ODISHA REVIEW

VOL. LXXVI NO.9-10 APRIL - MAY - 2020

SANJAY KUMAR SINGH, I.A.S.

Commissioner-cum-Secretary

KRUPASINDHU MISHRA, O.A.S (SAG)

Director

DR. LENIN MOHANTY

Editor

Associate Editor
BIBHU CHANDRA MISHRA

Editorial Assistance Production Assistance

Bikram Maharana Debasis Pattnaik
Sadhana Mishra

Cover Design & Illustration D.T.P. & Design

Manas Ranjan Nayak Hemanta Kumar Sahoo

Photo
Kishor Kumar Sinha
Raju Singh
Manoranjan Mohanty
Niranjan Baral

The Odisha Review aims at disseminating knowledge and information concerning Odisha’s
socio-economic development, art and culture. Views, records, statistics and information
published in the Odisha Review are not necessarily those of the Government of Odisha.
Published by Information & Public Relations Department, Government of Odisha,
Bhubaneswar - 751001 and Printed at Odisha Government Press, Cuttack - 753010.
For subscription and trade inquiry, please contact : Manager, Publications, Information
& Public Relations Department, Loksampark Bhawan, Bhubaneswar - 751001.

Rs.5/- Per Copy E-mail : iprsec@rediffmail.com

Visit : http://odisha.gov.in
Contact : 9937057528(M)
i
 CONTENTS
APRIL - MAY - 2020

Geographical Indications (GIs) of Odisha ... Dr. Anita Sabat ... ix

SDC Cup - 2020 ... Ranjana Chopra ... xix
Odia Language and Literature ... Dr. Sarbeswar Sena ... 1

Madhusudan Das : The Pride of Odisha ... Balabhadra Ghadai ... 6

Spectacular Solar Eclipses Visible in Odisha
in Near Past ... Nikunja Bihari Sahu ... 10
The Odia Identity Movement and
Maharaja K. C. Gajapati Narayan Deo ... Dr. Sarat Parida ... 12
Utkala Gourav Madhusudan : A Tribute ... Prabhudutt Dash ... 16
Utkal Dibas ... Er. Raghunath Patra ... 17
The Peasant Movements in Odisha 1936-1990... Sujata Barik ... 18
Ganga Temple Architecture: A Study on
Ananta Vasudev Temple in Bhubaneswar ... Anasuya Swain ... 26
Professor Krishna Chandra Panigrahi and
Odishan Historiography ... Kailash Chandra Dash ... 30
Definitions of Astanga Yoga of
Maharshi Patanjali ... Dr. Saroj Kumar Sahu ... 38
Last Year of Gopabandhu’s Life ... Madhusudan Patnaik ... 41
Digital Platform to Defeat COVID-19 ... Dr. Manas Ranjan Senapati ... 43
Soubhagya Ranjan Mallick
Reworking Sanitation Management
in Backdrop of Covid-19 ... Dr. Pramodini Jena ... 45
Rambha Palace : An Altar of Odia Movement ... Dr. Janmejay Choudhury ... 47

ii
MAKERS OF MODERN ODISHA

Utkal Gourab Madhusudan Das

iii
Utkalamani Pandit Gopabandhu Das

iv
 Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanjadeo

Vyasakabi Fakir Mohan Senapati Kabibara Radhanath Ray

v
 Swabhabakabi Gangadhar Meher

Pandit Neelakantha Das Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab

vi
Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Dev

vii
Legendary Biju Patnaik

viii
 Geographical Indications (GIs)
of Odisha
Dr. Anita Sabat

About Geographical Indications (GIs) As on 17th May, 2020, a total of

366 products have been registered in India’s
Geographical Indication (GI)
Geographical Indications Registry, out of the
refers to the unique, reputed and special
687 GI applications received since inception.
product of a geographical area
associated with a particular The Common GI Logo
community. GI is a type of Intellectual In June 2019, Department for
Property Rights (IPR). GI is an IPR that is Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
a community right.
GI is an indication that:
 Is used to identify agricultural and non-
agricultural goods including manufactured
goods, natural goods, handicrafts and
foodstuffs originating in a specific
geographical area,
 Originates from a definite territory in
India (or world),
 Has a reputation for special quality or
characteristics unique to the geographical
indication.
The world has many such unique (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce
products. Some of these products have got and Industry released a notification stating
the GI tag. Many people have heard their the guidelines of the GI logo and tagline on
names, though they may not be aware about all GIs of India. The logo consists of a ‘G’
the term - “Geographical Indications” or that and ‘I’ bearing the three colours of the Indian
flag. The tagline in English is ‘Invaluable
the products have got GI tags.
ix
Treasures of Incredible India’ along with the
same in Hindi- ‘Atulya Bharat Ki Amulya
Nidhi’.
The usage of this logo helps
consumers to identify the authentic GI
products of India. It also helps in promotion
and marketing of Indian GI products.
Geographical Indications of Odisha
Many unique products of Odisha are
being made by certain communities by using
traditional knowledge and skills from many
centuries. Some products belong to a
specific part of Odisha i.e. they are only
made/manufactured in a particular area viz.
in a single or two or more village(s), city(ies),
or district(s), or spread over the entire state.
x
Once more people know about a
geographical region’s unique products, the
demand can increase. Only when
information is shared, people can know and
be aware.
This info-display board with names
and logos of all the registered GIs of Odisha
served as a selfie-point at the 3rd Rasagola
Mahotsav organized by OTV on January 15,
2020 at Cuttack, Odisha.
Odisha GIs
Odisha has got the following 17 GIs
registered so far:
(1) GI Application No.-10 - Kotpad
Handloom Fabric- Handicraft
(2) GI Application No.- 22 - Orissa
Ikat - Handicraft
(3) GI Application No.- 87 - Konark
Stone Carving - Handicraft
(4) GI Application No.- 88 - Orissa
Pattachitra - Handicraft
(5) GI Application No.- 86 & 108 -Pipli
Applique Work - Handicraft
(6) GI Application No.- 136 - Khandua
Saree and Fabrics - Handicraft
(7) GI Application No.167 - Gopalpur
Tussar Fabrics - Handicraft
(8) GI Application No.207 -
Dhalapathar Parda & Fabrics -
Handicraft
(9) GI Application No.208 -
Sambalpuri Bandha Saree &
Fabrics - Handicraft
(10) GI Application No. 217 - Bomkai
Saree & Fabrics - Handicraft
(11) GI Application No.219 - Habaspuri
Saree & Fabrics - Handicraft
(12) GI Application No.220 –
Berhampur Patta (Phoda
Kumbha) Saree & Joda –
Handicraft
(13) GI Application No.228 - Ganjam
Kewda Rooh - Manufactured
(14) GI Application No.229 - Ganjam
Kewda Flower - Agriculture
(15) GI Application No.607 – Araku
Valley Arabica Coffee –
Agriculture
(16) GI Application No.610 - Kotpad Handloom Fabric
Kandhamal Haladi - Agriculture
(17) GI Application No.612 - Odisha
Rasagola – Food Stuff
xi
Note- Odisha was previously called
“Orissa.”
The English name Orissa was
changed to “ODISHA” in 2011.
However, many people are not
aware and continue to use the old spellings.
Some cannot change their name viz.
the GIs of Odisha that had been filed when
Odisha state was known by her old name.
Thus, we have to continue using the
names submitted in the GI applications-
“Orissa Ikat” and “Orissa Pattachitra”
as these earned the GI certificates in
the years 2005 and 2008 respectively.
Seeing the old name “Orissa” still
in use at GI-stalls at exhibitions, people think
this is the correct spelling of Odisha! And
the misinformation/misspelling cycle
continues...
The GI application for "Odisha
Rasagola" was submitted in the year 2018
and it earned the GI tag in 2019. The name
“Odisha” has been used instead of the old
name Orissa.
GI Application No.-10
Type- Handicraft
Certificate Date: 2/6/2005
 Kotpad is a small tribal handloom
cluster in Koraput district of southern Odisha
in India.
The meaning of Bandha and Ikat in
Odia and Malay languages respectively is
the same- to tie or wind.
According to historians, Bandha is
Odisha state’s heritage and historical
maritime trade with South East Asia. The
Sadhabas (traders) of Odisha used to travel
to many lands by sailing across the seas.
Similar Bandha/Ikat is also seen in South
East Asian nations like Bali, Indonesia.
Konark Stone Carving
GI Application No.-87
Type- Handicraft
Certificate Date: 10/07/2008

It lends its name to “Kotpad

Handloom”. Kotpad is Odisha’s first “Konark
Geographical Indication. St o n e
Carving”
Orissa Ikat refers to
GI Application No.-22 the stone
Type- Handicraft carving of
Certificate Date: 7/6/2006 Konark
Ikat is a Malay word that is derived that is
from the word “Mangikat” that means to the most
bind, knot or wind round. Ikat is a process exemplary
of tie-and-dye weaving of handlooms. model of
ancient Odisha temple stone-carving craft
There are practised by artisans in Puri, Bhubaneswar
different names of and Cuttack. The art dates back to the late
Ikat available in
6th Century or early 7th Century AD.
different regions of
India some of which Orissa Pattachitra
have earned the GI GI Application No.-88
tag. The Odisha “tie Type- Handicraft
and dye” fabrics Certificate Date: 10/07/2008
and sarees are
called “Bandha” in The word Pattachitra is derived
Odia. from the Sanskrit word “patta”, which
xii
 Decorative and
ornamental
cloth for Lord
Jagannath and
other deities
have been
made in Pipli,
Puri, and some
other places of
Odisha for
many centuries now.
During Ratha Yatra, the three grand
wooden chariots are covered with three big
means a painted piece of cloth, or a plate; colourful canopies- the bi-colour canopy of
“chitra” means paintings or pictures. chariot of Lord Jagannath is yellow-red
The brilliantly colored Pattachitra colour, that of Lord Balabhadra is green-
works originated at Puri. They were/are red colour and that of Devi Subhadra is
produced as souvenirs for the pilgrims of the black-red colour.
Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha.
Themes for the Pattachitra paintings
range from incidents in Krishna’s life and the
Avatars of Vishnu to the epic tales of the
Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Each year, the deities have fever
during the Anasara period that is after Deba
Snana Purnima. When the trinity is Khandua Saree and Fabrics
recuperating inside the temple, public GI Application No.-136
Darshan of the Lords is prohibited. Patti Dian Type- Handicraft
i.e. the Pattachitra of the three siblings, is Certificate Date: 22/10/2010
worshipped in the temple.
Pipli Applique Work
GI Application No.-86 & 108
Type- Handicraft
Certificate Date: 9/09/2008
"Pipli Applique Work", originated in
Pipli, a village in the Puri district.
xiii
"Khandua Saree and Fabrics" are a type of Gopalpur cluster of Jajpur district
Orissa Ikat (Bandha of Odisha). of Odisha is famous for Tussar fabrics.
Khandua is Single Ikat. Tussar is a type of silk.

Like some other GIs of Odisha,

Khandua Saree and Fabrics too have been
associated with the rituals of Lord Jagannath
Temple of Puri in Odisha. Devotees offer
Khandua silk saree to Lord Jagannath for
different Besa.
Poet Jayadeva - Composer of "Gita
Govinda"

The art of weaving "Gopalpur Tussar

Fabrics" in Gopalpur cluster of Jajpur district
of Odisha is about 400 years old. Tussar
silk and cocoons are displayed in many
exhibitions of Odisha so that visitors can be
aware.
Dhalapathar Parda and Fabrics
GI Application No.-207
During the 12th Century AD,
Type- Handicraft
Jayadeva, the famous poet, desired to offer Certificate Date: 17/07/2012
his epic, Gita Govinda, to Lord Jagannath
"Dhalapathar
wrapped in a silk fabric. Weavers of
Parda and
Jayadeva's Kenduli village wove the script Fabrics" are
of verses of Gita Govinda by using tie and named after
dye technique. Kenduli, located in Odisha, the village of
is the birthplace of Jayadeva. Jayadeva Dhalapathar in
wrapped his epic Gita Govinda in the same Khurda district
of Odisha.
and offered it to the three deities at Shree
Parda means
Jagannath Temple. curtain. The
Gopalpur Tussar Fabrics handloom
curtains and
GI Application No.-167 fabrics of this
Type- Handicraft village are
Certificate Date: 6/01/2012 handmade using spinning machines.
xiv
Sambalpuri Bandha Saree and Fabrics
GI Application No.-208
Type- Handicraft
Certificate Date: 17/07/2012
"Sambalpuri Bandha" is a type of
Double Ikat. The weavers of western
Odisha weave colourful chequered pattern
and other designs on sarees.
Bomkai Saree is a handloom saree
from Odisha, India that originated in Bomkai,
Ganjam district. Apart from Ganjam district,
the production area covers many districts
like- Sonepur, Bargarh, Boudh, Angul and
Cuttack. Now, Bomkai is mostly produced
by the "Bhulia" community.
Habaspuri Saree and Fabrics
Note- Odisha Handloom, Orissa Ikat and GI Application No.-219
Sambalpuri Bandha are NOT synonymous. Type- Handicraft
Sambalpuri Bandha is a type of Certificate Date: 17/07/2012
Odisha Bandha i.e. Orissa Ikat. Orissa Ikat
is a type of Odisha Handloom. There are
other types of Odisha Bandha like Khandua.
It is incorrect to use "Sambalpuri" as a
synonym for any and every Odisha
Handloom! For example, some think the
handloom shown in the following image is
'Sambalpuri handloom', while it is actually
the Bandha from Nuapatna.
Bomkai Saree and Fabrics
GI Application No.-217 "Habaspuri" is named after the
Type- Handicraft village of Habaspur in Kalahandi district in
Odisha, where it originated. "Habaspuri
Certificate Date: 17/07/2012
Saree and Fabrics" are cotton-based
"Bomkai Sarees and Fabrics" gets traditional handloom textiles of Odisha.
it names from "Bomkai" - name of a village These are handwoven by the skilled tribal
in Ganjam district. weavers of Habaspur.

xv
Berhampur Patta (Phoda Kumbha) manufactured from the "Ganjam Kewda
Saree and Joda Fower". Kewda oil is prepared by
GI Application No.-220 distillation process. It is used to make
perfumes for use in cosmetics, soaps, hair
Type- Handicraft
oil, agarbatti etc., and for flavouring foods.
Certificate Date: 17/07/2012
Ganjam Kewda Flower
GI Application No.-229
Type- Agriculture
Certificate Date: 19/03/2012
T h e
world's most
fragrant flower is
the "Ganjam
Kewda flower".
"Berhampur Phoda Kumbha Patta The region where
and Joda" is handwoven in the silk city of the Kewda flower
Odisha- "Brahmapur". As many refer to it is grown is called
as- Berhampur, the handloom GI of this city the 'Kewda belt'. 90% of India's cultivation
in Ganjam district of Odisha is known as is in Odisha. It is also called: "Screw Pine"
"Berhampur Patta (Phoda Kumbha) Saree in English, "Ketaki" in Hindi, and "Kia" in
& Joda". "Patta" means silk. This saree is Odia.
popularly called - Berhampuri Silk.
Araku Valley Arabica Coffee
Berhampur Patta (Phoda Kumbha) Saree
GI Application No.-607
has a traditional and typical temple pattern
Type- Agriculture
called the "Phoda Kumbha".
Certificate Date: 1/03/2019
Ganjam Kewda Rooh
Ara ku
GI Application No.-228 Valley is a
Type- Manufactured picturesque
Certificate Date: 19/03/2012 valley near
Rooh means Vishakhapatnam
extract. (Vizag) of
Andhra Pradesh
(AP). A special
"Ganjam variety of coffee
Kewda Rooh" is grown in this
is a valley. Coffee
manufactured Board of India
product; it is had applied for
xvi
the Geographical Indication (GI) tag of Bije, the last
"Araku Valley Arabica Coffee." Apart from day of the
Andhra Pradesh, many parts of Odisha like Ratha Yatra.
Koraput, and other districts of Odisha like- Thus, Niladri
Kandhamal, Rayagada, Keonjhar, Gajapati Bije is
and Kalahandi have been included in this GI celebrated as
Application. Rasagola
Dibasa. The
Kandhamal Haladi
last day of the
GI Application No.-610 Ratha Yatra,
Type- Agriculture Niladri Bije, is the only day of the year when
Certificate Date: 1/04/2019 Rasagola is offered as a bhog/prasad to the
'Kandhamal Haladi' is an organic deities. Goddess Lakshmi is angry as Her
and aromatic variety of turmeric grown in husband, Lord Jagannath, goes for the Ratha
Ka n d h am al Yatra with His siblings by leaving Her behind.
district of After He comes back, She locks the Temple
Odisha, that door and does not allow Him to enter. The
earned the GI divine couple has a conversation that is
called "Lakshmi Narayana Bachanika". To
tag recognition
placate Goddess Lakshmi, and to enter the
on Utkala
Temple, Lord Jagannath offers Rasagola to
Dibasa 2019.
His wife. This is called "Manabhanjana". This
Turmeric is
is a continuing tradition on Niladri Bije from
called "Haladi"
centuries.
in Odia
language and Rasagola is mentioned in many
"Haldi" in Hindi. Haladi is the main cash crop ancient Odia texts. Many books like the
of the tribals. Mr. L. S. S. O. Mally (Annual 15th Century Odia Ramayana, called 'Dandi
District Gazetteer 1908) mentions Ramayana', mention chhena and Rasagola.
Kandhamal Haladi. Chhena (cottage-cheese) is the main
Odisha Rasagola ingredient used for preparation of Rasagola
and other dishes. Chhena dishes have been
GI Application No.-612 a part of Mahaprasad of Lord Jagannath for
Type- Food Stuff long. Many Odia sweets like chhenaladu,
Certificate Date: 29/07/2019 chhenamanda, chhenabada/chhenabara etc.
"Odisha Rasagola" earned the GI have been traditionally prepared from
Tag in 2019; the GI application was chhena and other ingredients from centuries.
submitted in 2018. As per Puri Temple's strict rituals
Rasagola has been traditionally and customs, dishes are prepared using only
offered for centuries as 'bhog' on Niladri indigenous vegetables, fruits and grocery.
xvii

Chilly, potato, tomato etc., are still not being
used to prepare Mahaprasad. Contrary to
popular belief, and as per Jagannath culture
experts and sebayats, nothing called
'Khiramohana', 'khira mohana', or 'kheer
mohan' is or has ever been offered in Puri
Temple. Rasagola has been a continuing
tradition for centuries on the last day of the
Ratha Yatra at Puri, Odisha.
Conclusion
GI products are linked with the
culture, traditions, history, reputation etc. of
a geographical location. However, many are
yet to learn, know, appreciate or use these
products. People are yet to be aware about
the names of the GI products of their states.
Only when info is shared, people can learn
and be aware.
xviii
We need to know so that we can
feel proud of our culture and heritage.
Odisha has 30 districts, but only 17 GIs so
far. There are many products of Odisha that
deserve the GI tag. If a potential GI product
is registered from each district, then there
will be "One District One Product" (ODOP)
and the number of GIs will increase. Let's
all pledge to consciously use and encourage
everyone to use and promote 'Made In India'
goods and GI products - the "invaluable
treasures of incredible India".
Let's be responsible brand
ambassadors and ethical consumers and
support our producer groups, artisans,
weavers, farmers, and food-stuff makers,
and contribute to our India's economy and
actively participate in our nation's
development and progress. We still have
many miles to travel and many milestones
ahead on our GI road…
We look forward to a GI function
by Odisha State Govt. It will be great to
commemorate the first anniversary of Odisha
Rasagola GI Tag in July and raise awareness
about the GIs of Odisha.
Jay Jagannath!
Bande Utkala Janani!
Vande Mataram!
Dr. Anita Sabat, Odita Trust, Sahidnagar,
Bhubaneswar, E-mail : Sabatanita@yahoo.com.
 SDC Cup - 2020
Introduction:
Odisha is home to 9.7% of the total
tribal population of the country and there are
62 Scheduled Tribes and 13 Particularly
Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) residing
in the state. The tribal communities share a
pure endearment with nature and rely on it
for their sustenance as well as livelihood. The
State Government has, over the years,
introduced provisions and programmes for
their overall development, while enhancing
and utilising their skills, talents and mastery
for their socio-economic growth. To fulfil
xix
Ranjana Chopra
these objectives, the government established
Special Development Council (SDC) that
includes in its purview the 9 tribal dominated
districts namely Mayurbhanj, Kendujhar,
Sundergarh, Kandhamal, Gajapati,
Koraput, Rayagada, Nowrangpur and
Malkanagiri covering 117 Blocks, 1886
GPs, 18687 villages, and 1359385 ST
households. It was felt necessary that the
tribal should be extensively involved at all
stages of the development process starting
from identification of deficit areas, felt needs,
plan formulation, implementation, and
monitoring so that the tribal development will
be more effective, inclusive and participative.
Promotion of sports, particularly
tribal sports, is one key mandate of SDC.
In this context, SDC has undertaken various
activities at the GP, block and district levels,
to scout for tribal sports talents and to ensure
that not a single sports talent is left
unidentified. SDC is making an attempt to
generate sports consciousness and mass
participation in sports in SDC districts, to
strengthen sports at the grass-root level, and
to provide the opportunity for tribal children
to get noticed for further nurturing. SDC also
intends to conserve the indigenous games
and sports as part of the intangible cultural
heritage of tribal communities of Odisha.
Apropos this, SDC organised “SDC Cup,
Tribal Football Championship” -an inter-
district football Championship in 9 tribal
districts of Odisha which includes 117
Blocks and 1886 Gram Panchayats (GPs)
from 14th February to 5th March 2020, in
order to identify hidden talents among the
tribal youth starting from Gram Panchayat
level up-to State level, in Odisha.
The ‘SDC Cup’ is a unique and
exclusive tournament which involved over
10000 tribal players (both in men and
women category), making it, probably, the
largest tribal tournament in the country. It
aided mass participation in sports amongst
the tribal youth of the state, and provided
them with a platform to showcase their
sporting talent. Additionally, it also helped
to scout and nurturing talent in the remote
tribal pockets of Odisha, thereby
strengthening sports at the grass-root level.
xx
Several former tribal players, who
have played Santosh Trophy and other
national and international tournaments, were
also part of this unique exercise. The
championship was organised with the
technical assistance and supervision of the
Football Association of Odisha (FAO) and
has been recognised by the All India Football
Federation (AIFF).
Objectives behind SDC Cup 2020:
The key objectives of the football
tournament were as follows:
 to showcase the tribal talent,
 to thrive a sporting spirit amongst tribal
youth,
 to provide a platform and opportunity
to the energetic tribal youth to display
their sporting talents,
 to encourage tribal participation.
“There are many hidden sporting
talents in our tribal areas who do not get a
proper platform to showcase their talents.
The SDC Cup is a unique platform to explore
the hidden talents and nurture them through
better training and other facilities.”
Shri Sujeet Kumar, the then Advisor to SDC & currently
Hon’ble MP-Rajya Sabha
Planning & Coordination:
It took more than 3 months to plan
this entire competition. Intensive discussions
with football experts, players, football bodies
and other stakeholders in the competition
resulted in the competition structure and
format.
District Coordinators with
management expertise of holding
tournaments of such stature were scouted
from the 9 districts for smooth conduct of
district level selection camp and subsequently
league, semi-final and final matches.
Hundreds of volunteers contributed in
making the competition successful.
Role of Departments:
SCSTRTI
The SCSTRTI put a lot of efforts
into the planning and execution of the entire
competition. From charting out budget, to
coordinating with district officials and
monitoring the overall process, SCSTRTI
played a key role.
ITDA
The Nodal PA, ITDAs were
designated as the Nodal Officer to
coordinate the conduct of the events in their
respective districts. The respective ITDAs
were involved in the smooth conduct of the
camps and all matches, which includes
registration of players, travel,
accommodation, fooding, preparation of
grounds, venue management, etc.
xxi
FAO
Football Association of Odisha
provided all the technical help such as
providing coaches, match officials, selectors,
tournament tools and match coordination.
SDC
Under the able-guidance and
supervision of Shri Sujeet Kumar, (the then
Advisor to SDC and currently Hon’ble MP-
Rajya Sabha) the event turned out to be
highly successful overcoming all the
challenges. Members of district councils of
SDC were actively involved in the
tournament.
Promotion and Advertising:
1. During the onset of the mega event,
the district authorities took it upon
themselves to promote it on a large scale.
Vehicles were branded with SDC cup visuals
and plied in all parts of the district to get
maximum applicants for the district level
camp.
2. A dedicated Android mobile
application i.e. “FootballDost” was
developed for the championship. All the semi
final and final matches were telecasted live
on the app as well as on YouTube.
3. The theme song was composed and
sung by Ms. Sarah Sharma, SP, Gajapati
and her team, and it received widespread
coverage on social media. It was on every
tribal person’s lips wherever the game was
being played. Ms. Dagar Tudu entertained
the crowds with this song in Baripada and
Cuttack respectively.
4. Sports Enthusiasts took out bike
procession on the main roads of semi-final
venues i.e. Sundargarh and Keonjhar. Both
the places were buzzing with the excitement
of semi-final matches.
5. The mascot got widespread
attention and was loved by one and all.
6. The Cuttack City was splashed with
the hoardings and posters of the final match.
xxii
Prizes:
For the first time in such kind of
events huge prize money was distributed to
the winning teams as well as the losing teams.
To encourage the players, prize money of
Rs.3000 was distributed to the player of the
match of each and every match of league
level similarly Rs.5000 and Rs.10000 for the
player of the match of semi final and final
matches.
The knocked out teams of league
level received the prize money of Rs.25000,
the defeated teams of the semi final matches
received Rs.50000 as prize money. The
Champion and Runners-up teams got
Rs.200000 and Rs.100000 respectively as
prize money.
Apart from all these there were
prizes for the player of the tournament, the
best goal keeper of the tournament and the
 Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, on the 5th
March 2020.
District Level Selection Camps
Different camps were held in 10
venues in the 9 SDC districts. Mayurbhanj
district was allocated 2 venues i.e.
Rairangpur and Baripada while rest of the
districts were allocated one venue each. The
purpose of the camps was to form teams
from respective districts.
player having scored maximum number Around 10000 tribal football
goals in the tournament. players (both Men & Women) joined the
camps and trials were conducted. They
About the Championship: were provided with food and
The championship commenced with accommodation and training for the entire
the district level selection camps in 10 venues camp period. At the end of the training
(All the SDC districts with Mayurbhanj
having two venues i.e.
Baripada and Rairangpur)
from 14th to 20th February.
The league matches were
played at Mayurbhanj
District Athletic Association
Stadium-Baripada and
Coronation Playground-
Phulbani, from 24th-28th
February 2020; while the
semi-final matches were
played, at District Athletic
Association Stadium-
Sundargarh and Keonjhar
Stadium, on the 2nd March
2020. Hon'ble Chief
Minister of Odisha, Shri
Naveen Patnaik, graced the
event as the Chief Guest at
the Final match and award-
ceremony, which was
played at the historic
xxiii
camps a Men's team and a Women's team
consisting of 22 players each was formed
for each of the Districts. A support staff unit
consisting of one coach, one assistant coach
and one manager was given to each team.
The selected players also got jerseys, track-
suits as well as football kits to prepare
themselves for the league matches.
League (Inter-District) Matches
The 10 teams were divided into two
groups and the league matches were played
in two venues i.e. Phulbani and Baripada.
All the teams played with each other
and the top two teams from each group were
promoted for the Semi final matches.

xxiv
Rairangpur men’s and women’s teams,
Koraput men’s team and Keonjhar women’s
team qualified for the semi finals from
Phulbani venue. Similarly, both Sundargarh
men’s and women’s teams, and Baripada
men’s and women’s teams were qualified
from the Baripada venue.
Semi-Final Matches
The semi final matches were played
in Sundargarh and Keonjhar. All the matches
experienced a huge turnout of football lovers
and sports enthusiasts. 3 out of 4 semi final
matches ended up in a close contest with
xxv
nail biting finish. Both the men’s and women’s
team of Sundargarh made it to the final along
with Baripada men’s team and Rairangpur
women’s team.
Final Match :
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha,
Shri Naveen Patnaik, attended the Final
match and award-ceremony as the Chief
Guest, on the 5th March 2020, which was
played at the historic Barabati Stadium,
Cuttack, Odisha. Shri Bhaichung Bhutia,
Legendary Footballer and former Indian
Captain came as the guest of honour. Among
 (Sundargarh men’s team with the championship trophy)

(Sundargarh women’s team with the championship trophy)

others Hon’ble Minister of Sports, Sujeet Kumar, Principal Secretary of

Shri Tusharkanti Behera, Hon’ble Minister
of ST & SC Development, Minorities &
Backward Classes Welfare, Shri Jagannath
Saraka, Hon’ble Minister of Odia Language
Literature & Culture, Shri Jyoti Prakash
Panigrahi, the then Advisor of SDC, Shri
xxvi
Department of ST & SC Development,
Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare,
Ms. Ranjana Chopra, President of FAO,
Shri Debasish Samantaray, Secretary of
FAO, Shri Ashirbad Behera, Secretary of
OCA, Shri Sanjay Behera were present in
the closing ceremony.
 More than 10000 strong crowds
cheered for the finalists. The final matches
excitement had made the audience stand up
on their feet.
Sundargarh men’s and women’s
teams turned out to be the champions of the
inaugural SDC Cup.
Hon’ble Chief Minister’s Message
The State Govt. of Odisha has been
actively promoting sports and sportspersons
of the state. SDC Cup: the tribal football
championship is definitely a milestone in the
context of development of the tribal football
players of the state.
xxvii
SDC Cup is a very good initiative
of the Odisha Government. Special Thanks
to the SDC Advisor and Sports Department
for conducting this tournament as most of
the talents are staying in tribal areas. In fact,
for 3 years, Ranjan Soren, an Odia tribal
boy was trained at Bhaichung Bhutia Training
Academy who is now representing India in
the Under-16 Football competition. I feel
there are many talents like Ranjan Soren and
we should provide them a platform and
promote football. They should play at a high
level. A platform like SDC Cup is giving
players an opportunity to compete. SDC
Cup can help in scouting of talent for
National Team, Junior Team, Santosh
Trophy and also for State Team. The Odisha
government is setting examples for other
states to follow, in promoting sports and I
feel good that Odisha government is pushing
and uplifting sports.
Shri Bhaichung Bhutia,
Former Indian Footballer, Padma Shri &
Arjuna Awardee
The Government of Odisha has
taken many major steps for the upliftment of
the tribes of Odisha. Under the able
leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister
Shri Naveen Patnaik, there has been a
constant rise in education, social and
economic growth of the tribals of Odisha
and the SDC Cup - Tribal Football
Championship, has added another page of
success to it. The SDC Cup was organized
to develop the sports talent among the youth
of tribals communities. The sports expertise,
strength, and dedication of the tribal have
been demonstrated in front of all due to this
championship. It’s my faith and belief that, if
similar tournaments can be arranged for all
xxviii
sports as per their interests in different sports
it will bring more fame to the state. In this
context, I would like to thank and
congratulate all the participants, players,
organizers, and staff from the bottom of my
heart.
Shri Jagannath Saraka,
Hon’ble Minister of ST & SC
Development, Minorities & Backward
Classes Welfare
SDC cup provided a platform to the
young budding tribal players. It was a unique
event which showcased the rural tribal talent
and brought together various communities
on a common forum. It will go a long way in
instilling aspirations among the tribal youth
and will motivate them for achievement of
excellence in sports.
Ranjana Chopra, Principal Secretary, Department
of ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward
Classes Welfare, Bhubaneswar.
Mission Shakti Masking Odisha from Corona
Women Self Help Groups of “Mission Shakti” lead the fight against COVID
in Odisha through Community Sensitization and Awareness Generation

Supporting Government’s crucial initiatives in responding to the global pandemic of Corona

virus are women Self Help Groups (SHGs) of Mission Shakti. 70 lakh women in 6 lakh
SHGs across rural and urban areas of the State have shouldered many vital responsibilities
during this pandemic.
Early in March pamphlets on awareness of Corona virus and prevention of COVID-19 were
circulated to 70 lakh SHG members. They were to sensitize their family members and local
communities. This enabled them to create mass awareness
of this disease mainly among women in rural and semi urban
areas. “I am heartened by the all-
round response of women
The pledge that Honourable CM requested everybody to especially members of Mission
take for prevention of COVID-19 was circulated to all SHG Shakti Self Help Groups
members. Carrying forward the STAY @ HOME pledge of (SHGs) during this critical
time.”
Hon’ble Chief Minister to all rural and urban habitations
across the State for breaking the chain, SHGs have led the Shri Naveen Patnaik,
Chief Minister, Odisha
fight against Corona virus with immediate coordinated action.
Early on, seeing the public demand for masks many SHGs
and Federations who had prior
experience in stitching uniforms
for school children took on this
activity. Today nearly 400 groups
with a combined capacity of
50,000 masks per day are
manufacturing this much needed
item. Our SHGs have sold nearly
6 lakh masks so far to agencies,
institutions banks, police, village
health workers and the common
public. They are sold at
reasonable rates of Rs 15-20 /
piece. Many SHGs have also taken this up as a philanthropic activity and distributed masks
free of cost to those in need.
xxix
When the lockdown was announced and it was seen that supply of rations and vegetables
may become an issue, our SHGs stepped in to fill the gap. Nearly 500 SHGs have set up dry
ration, vegetables and fruit shops across the State with the help of the district administration.
They are also doing home delivery of rations in many urban centres like Berhampur, Cuttack,
Kendrapa and Koraput.
“Once again Mission Shakti
To ensure food security of the vulnerable during the
members have risen to the
lockdown across the State, Honourable Chief Minister occasion providing a vital link
entrusted the responsibility of managing free kitchens in between government and
every Gram Panchayat to the SHGs. Today nearly community - as leaders and
1,75,385 hot cooked meals have been provided to partners in service delivery at the
grassroots level.”
needy and vulnerable persons in 4338 GPs and 14,383
meals in 114 urban bodies. This is actively being done Smt.Sujata R Karthikeyan,I.A.S,
by our SHGs and the number of such kitchens is Commissioner-cum-
Director,Mission Shakti
increasing everyday.
Apart from this, under the existing Mission Shakti loan scheme of the State, women SHGs
are eligible for loans upto 3 lakhs at zero interest. This year more than 2000 crores loan has
been sanctioned to women SHGs.
All the Block level federations of the State have a corpus of Rs.25 lakh which can be used to
meet the financial needs of the SHG members at low interest rates.
Many SHGs and Federations have voluntarily contributed from their group savings to the
Chief Ministers Relief fund.
Mission Shakti started by Shri Naveen Patnaik in 2001 - comprising 70 lakh women in 6
lakh groups has always played a vital role during any disaster or emergency situation.

xxx
 "Corona virus is the biggest threat that the
human race has faced in more than a century"

— Naveen Patnaik
Chief Minister

I thank the 4 1/2 crore people of Odisha for all the support and cooperation each one of you
has been extending in this serious crisis situation. I know it involves a lot of sacrifice, hardship
and uncertainty but this is the only way to face this crisis. From March 15th when we had the
first case, till today at 42 cases your discipline and sacrifice has helped the state. In the same
period, US - a Superpower, has moved from 3000 to 4 lakh cases. The United States has
lost more people to Covid 19 than all the wars and 9/11 attack put together. They have still
not locked down the country as a whole.

At this crucial juncture one has to decide between protecting lives of people and economic
activity. The State Cabinet decided that saving the lives of our
people is the top most priority at this juncture. Accordingly we Hon’ble CM announces
have decided to extend the lock down till April 30th, We will Special Financial
recommend to Government of India to extend the national Package for the weaker
sections of society
lockdown up to 30thApril. In addition to this we will also request
the Union Government not to start Airline and Railway services
till April 30th. As regards people from Odisha who are stranded in various parts of the
country, our intervention for their well-being will be through the concerned State Governments.
Odisha will take care of all the people who are stranded in Odisha.

Activities related to agriculture, animal husbandry and MGNREGS will be facilitated during
the lockdown period following social distancing norms. In a larger context food security of
the people is a major priority of the State. As has been stated earlier, there will not be any
problem in transport of goods. We are leaving no stone unturned in scaling up COVID
testing and treatment Facilities. We propose to do one Lakh rapid testing in the State at the
earliest possible time. We would like to thank doctors from all over the country who have
volunteered to offer their services in telemedicine. As regards educational institutions they will
remain closed till June 17. Corona virus is the biggest threat that the human race has faced in
more than a century. Life will not be the same ever. All of us must understand this and face it
boldly together. With our sacrifice and with the blessings of the Lord Jagannath this too shall
pass.

xxxi
 Government of Odisha inviting expression of interest
from senior professionals to work as Honorary advisors.

xxxii
Odisha Review
Odia Language and Literature
A linguistic survey of the world confirms to
the total number of 6912 (six thousand nine
hundred twelve) dialects all over the world, out
of this 516 (five hundred sixteen) have either
perished or about to perish. Similarly, 1652 (one
thousand six hundred fifty two) dialects are there
in India and some of its scheduled tribe languages
are about to be dead. The UNICEF has given a
very crucial report apprehending six thousand
dialects may vanish by the end of 21st century.1
No doubt it is a serious concern. The death of a
language is as good as the death of a human being
for one can’t be imagined excluding the other.
Hence language and human beings are inter-
dependant. In the present context Odia language
is much more progressive and promising one.
On the 23rd July 2013, the language
expert committee appointed by Sahitya
Academy on behalf of the Culture Department
of Central Government recommended for the
classical status of Odia language. On the 20th
February 2014 the council of ministers has
approved the said proposal. Now Odia language
is the 6th one in achieving such milestone. Except
Sanskrit, Odia is the only Indo-Aryan language
to achieve such magical status and other four
languages (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and
Malayalam) belong to Dravidian language group.
APRIL-MAY - 2020
ISSN 0970-8669
Dr. Sarbeswar Sena
The benevolent efforts by some great litterateurs
from hundreds of years back to till date, the fate
of Odia language and literature dazzles and it has
its special identity in the language map of the world.
The origin of this language and literature can be
traced back to no less than 12th century A.D.
Odia language and epistle is special,
independent and unique one. It has been
introduced by the Ganga kings after 1110 A.D.
The reign of the dynasty is the tenure of not less
than four centuries. By that time their kingdom is
called Utkal. Odia language has got a morden
shape in 15th century A.D. during the rule of
Gajapati king Kapilendra Dev. None but
Sudramuni Sarala Das a soldier of his regiment
has written the great epic the Mahabharat and
needless to mention that the Prakit and
Apabhramsha Odia language has been polished.
Sarala Das is the great architect of giving a new
dimension to it.
Language is the cultural realisation of a
nation. It flourishes keeping space with the
development of civilization. So the language of a
civilization is more polished and progressive. In
qualitative assessment of the cultural heritage of a
nation, language plays the key role. This is a naked
truth for all nations including Odisha.2
1
ISSN 0970-8669
Without a language the existence of a
nation can’t be dreamt of because language and
literature are inseparable. Hence the art form of
language is literature. Thoughts, feelings,
imaginations are expressed through language
either orally or in written shape, then it becomes
literature. A nation is also admired for its lofty,
advanced literature. In this regard Odisha never
lags behind. From pre-Sarala Yuga to till date
some noted writers have enriched the literary
treasure house of Goddess Saraswati and the
vast Odia literary horizon has impressed many
scholars of country and abroad.
Once upon a time the Sanskrit pundits
and poets have kept the literature in their safe
clutches. Nobody has ventured to cross the iron
bars of restriction for writing in Odia language
was just like a punishment of being beheaded.
Poet Sarala Das has never cared for the same
and exhibited bravery of excellence by presenting
the Odia Mahabharat in 15th century. It is not
the exact translation of the Sanskrit Mahabharat
of Vyasadeva but to the maximum extent of an
original creation. No doubt it has created havoc
in literary sphere and paved the path for leading
Odia literature in future. Next to Sarala Yuga,
Pancha Sakha Yuga has been prominent for some
wonderful Vaisnava literature.
Balaram, Jagannath, Achutananda,
Yosabanta and Ananta, the five Vaisnavas have
accepted themselves as servants of Lord Shree
Jagannath and made their surnames Das
irrespective of their castes. They are the
worshippers of Shree Jagannath and of same
religious ideology. So they are called the Pancha
Sakha (five friends). The valuable contributions
of those poets are the Dandi Ramayan of
Balaram Das, the Bhagabat of Jagannath Das,
2 APRIL-MAY - 2020
Odisha Review
Haribansha of Achutananda Das. Besides those
they have some important religious literature to
their credit. Thus just after the Sarala Yuga,
Pancha Sakha Yuga is a landmark in Odia
literature. Then starts the important and precious
Yuga called Riti Yuga/Madhya Yuga/Kabya
Yuga/Vakti Yuga. This period is of two hundred
years called the golden arena in Odia literature.
The eldest poet of Riti Yuga is Dina
Krishna Das and his most attractive creation is
the Rasakallola. It is most popular for its love
lineless of poetic flavour. During language crisis
in 19th century the great linguist John Beams has
had appreciated its literary value and championed
the cause of originality of Odia language. The
other successful Riti poets are Kabi Samrat
Upendra Bhanja, Abhimanyu Samanta
Singhar, Kabi Surya Baladeva Ratha, Gopal
Krushna and some others who have decorated
their lucid writings with ornamental language,
devotional feelings and amorousness painting.
Some important poetic works of the same time
are the Vaideisha Vilas, Bidagdha Cintamani
and Kishore Chandranana Champu.
Undoubtedly Riti literature is an augmentative in
developing Odia language and literature.
The 19th century A.D. witnessed an
unwanted struggle of Odia language to save its
status from the intentional attack of some self-
centred Bengalis. They have advocated that Odia
is a sub-language of Bengali language. This
unhealthy language conflict has occurred just after
the occupation of Odisha (1803 A.D.) by the
Britons. Most of the British rulers in Odisha have
been pre-occupied that Odia and Bengali are the
same language without going to the root and
replaced Odia, introduced Bengali (1848-1849)
as the official language in the courts of Odisha. It
Odisha Review
is pertinent to mention that after British occupation
of Odisha, the Odias had no interest to learn
English and developed a hatred feeling for the
foreign language. Out of greediness, many English
knowing Bengalis have rushed Odisha and
managed occupying important government official
posts and many of them were dishonest. It is piety
to mention that to get a job under British
government Odias qualified in 1848 A.D. For this
the Bengalis remaining in government service not
less than hundred years, cunningly became the
landlords but not a single protest was against
them.3 Taking the advantages the Bengali
Zamindars in Odisha have unnecessarily tried to
introduce Bengali language instead of Odia in their
jurisdiction. Even then the Bengali Zamindar,
Mandal Babu of Balasore had gone to the extent
to establish purely a Bengali school in his area in
the remote Mofussil. Similarly some Bengali
officers of coastal districts of Odisha have involved
themselves in the conspiracy of abolishing Odia
language.4
Odia is a dialect of Bengali, this statement
already given by Bouring Sahib earlier has been
negated by Commissioner Goldsbury.5 Kanti
Chandra Bhattacharya and some other Bengalis
antagonistic to Odia language have become silent
after the strong arguments given by John Beams,
Goldsbury and Rangalal Bandopadhyaya
(familiar with Odia language) that Odia is an
original language.6 During the language conflict,
Odia loving nationalist and a great writer Fakir
Mohan Senapati is ever remembered for his
unforgettable sacrifice of establishing a vernacular
press at Balasore in association with
Shyamananda De and it facilitated the process
of printing text books, newspapers and
periodicals.
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ISSN 0970-8669
The role of newspapers in safeguarding
the interest of Odia language and literature is a
vital one. In this respect the Utkal Deepika, Utkal
Hiteishini, Sambad Vahika, Utkal Darpana,
Sambalpur Hiteisini, Nava Sambad, Cuttack
Argos, Cuttack Star, Cuttack Standard and the
Cuttack Chronicle are some of the leading
newspapers that rendered yeoman service for the
growth of the Odia nationalism during language
conflict and after.7 Besides some eminent and
permanent domiciled Bengalis have had
tremendous support for Odia language and their
sacrifice is beyond mention. Among them the
names of Gouri Sankar Ray (the distinguished
editor of the Utkal Deepika), Raja
Baikunthanath De, Radhanath Ray,
Ramsankar Ray, Rammohan Ray and
Pyarimohan Acharya are worth mentionable.
The domiciled Bengali elite class remained
completely aloof from the language conflict.
Above all Odia language has got assent (1869)
as a special language by the British government
and it was no mean a blow for the crooked
Bengalis opposed to Odia language.
The Christian priests with an intention to
preach Christianity have published books in
regional language. As a result the provisional and
regional languages have come to the limelight in
printing shape. Keri, Marsman, Ward, those three
missionaries have published the religious
scriptures in provincial language; undoubtedly it
helped the progress of Odia language.8 At last
the language conflict (1841-1870) has collapsed
by the mid of 1870.
The best prophet of the future is the past. It is
applicable for the educated Odias of 19th century.
Nothing but language crisis has brought a dramatic
change in their mind-set. They not only have
3
ISSN 0970-8669
contributed to Odia literature by writing in plenty
but also they were determined for amalgamating
of Odia-speaking districts that were disintegrated
for the whimsical mentality of the Mughal and
Maratha rulers. For this Odisha is conquered by
East India Company in a piecemeal manner. The
Odia nationalism basing on language ultimately
makes a safe way for political movement relating
to the geographical territory of Odisha. In the long
run the nationalists have been successful in
achieving their goal. Odisha was declared a new
province (1st April 1936) by British government.
The long cherished desire of Odia-speaking
people to remain in one province became a reality.
The 19th century is quite eventful from
many angles. Language conflict, introduction of
English in educational curriculum, fascination to
learn the language by a group of enthusiastic
youths and morden trend in literature are some of
the eye catching happenings that brought a radical
change in Odishan life. Odia language has gained
a lot. Due to the adoptability of language some
English words are included in the colloquial and
written Odia language. Besides, the
contemporary world phenomenon and literary
trend have been gladly accepted by the western
educated youths.
Morden trend in literature began in
Kolkata just after the battle of Plassey
(1757A.D.) whereas in Odisha after the British
occupation (1803A.D.) literary stalwarts like
Fakir Mohan Senapati, Radhanath Ray,
Nanda Kishore Bal, Madhusudan Rao and some
others have decorated Odia language in different
styles. Especially Fakir Mohan is the pioneer of
morden prose writings. His masterpiece novel the
Chhamana Athaguntha is of world class, based
on Odisha life trend. He has raised a sensitive
4 APRIL-MAY - 2020
Odisha Review
issue that prevailed between Rama Chandra
Mangaraj, a greedy landlord and exploited Saria
and Bhagia the weaver-cum cultivators.
Radhanath Ray has introduced the Morden trend
in Odia poetry following world literature; the
European, Roman and English. Nanda Kishore
Bal popularly known as Palli Kabi has
concentred on rural life and beautifully pictured
the village scenery very artistically in his poems
whereas Madhusudan Rao is a successful poet
of narrating the relationship between soul and
super natural soul.
The 20th century has historic importance
of freedom movement. It has influenced the Indian
literature to the largest extent and some freedom
fighters also became writers from the prison cell.
In Odisha Pundit Gopabandhu Das, Dr.
Harekrushna Mahtab and Nityananda
Mohapatra are the noted writers sprouted from
behind the prison cells.
During Swadeshi movement many
students influenced by national leaders had left
English schools and studied in national schools.
Gopabandhu Das established a national school,
Satyabadi Bana Bidyalaya at Sakhigopal near
Puri, imparted education to the mother land loving
students. High educated and eminent moralist
teachers, Gopabandhu Das, Pundit Nilakantha
Das, Godavarish Mishra, Lingaraj Mishra of
Satyabadi group involved themselves in freedom
struggle. They are also writers of patriotic
literature. Hence Satyabadi Yuga in Odia
literature is best known for promoting patriotism
and nationalism.
After Satyabadi Yuga, patriotic
literatures have been plentily written in Odia
language. The freedom struggle has influenced
Odisha Review ISSN 0970-8669

many novelists. Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab, 2. Odia Jatira Itihas O Samskruti-Dr. Prabodh Kumar
Surendra Mohanty, Nityananda Mohaptra, Mishra-page-18
Ram Prasad Sing are the famous in this field. 3. History of Orissa- Dr. R.D. Banarjee-page-279
But Nityananda’s supremacy in this area is of
high praise. He has decorated most of the 4. A History of Odisha-Ed.-Dr. N.K.Sahu-British salt
policy in Orissa-S.N.Choudhury-page-60
important aspects of literature. He achieves
immense success in the field of journalism. His 5. A History of Orissa-Ed.-Dr. N.K.Sahu-British salt
novels have brought eye catching name and fame policy in Orissa-S.N. Choudhury-page-59
for this great freedom fighter Nityananda. Odia
6. Madhusudan Das-Surendra Mohanty-Page-55
novel literature is just incomplete without his
novels. In the post-independence period, Odia 7. History of Orissa-Dr. N.K.Sahu, Dr. P.K.Mishra, Dr.
language has developed a lot. It is a very good J.K.Sahu -Page-663
sign for the nation. 8. Odia Sahityara Itihasa- Dr. Natabar Samantaray-
page-203
Language is an eternal flow. It flourishes
day by day. In this respect, Odia language and
literature has a rich cultural heritage. It has got
the sanction of a ‘classical language’. No doubt it
is a spectacular achievement.

References :
1. The Sambad-3rd September 2014- Kete Bhasa Keun Dr. Sarbeswar Sena, At/PO-Purusottampur,
Bhabe-Dr. Sarat Chandra Pattnaik Dist-Kendrapara – 754223.

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ISSN 0970-8669
Madhusudan Das : The Pride of Odisha
M adhusudan Das, popularly known as
Madhu Barrister, respectfully regarded as
Mr. Das and nationally esteemed and addressed
as ‘Utkal Gaurav’ was the moving spirit for about
half-a-century in the political, economic and social
life of Odisha. As the third child of his parents,
Choudhury Raghunath Das and Parvati Devi,
Madhusudan was born on 28th
April, 1848, in Satyabhamapur,
a little-known village in the district
of Cuttack. Mother Parvati Devi
had molded the emotional life and
character of young Madhusudan,
and had left her imprint on his
personality. “You alone can keep
your own honour,’’ she had
impressed upon Madhusudan
from his childhood. This golden
maxim Madhu Babu had
remembered all through his life
and was guided by it whenever
situations necessitating
compromise with honour or
principles arose.
After completing his
early middle vernacular school in the nearby village
of Mahasingpur, Madhusudan went to Cuttack
for high school education and passed the Entrance
(Matriculation) Examination in 1864. His father
6 APRIL-MAY - 2020
Odisha Review
Balabhadra Ghadai
insisted on Madhusudan’s seeking his fortune in
some Government office but Madhusudan
wanted to get higher studies at Calcutta. He
passed B.A. and M.A. in 1870 and 1873
respectively from the Calcutta University.
However, having passed B.L in 1878, he started
practicing law at Alipore Court. With the sad
demise of his wife in 1878,
Madhusudan did not feel like
continuing to stay at Calcutta any
longer. He returned to Cuttack
in September, 1881 after a long
spell of fifteen years, an
anonymous lawyer with the
myths of the “first graduate”, the
“first M.A.” and the “first
Advocate of Odisha”, wreathed
around him.
Ma dh us ud an ’s
appearance at the Cuttack Court
heralded a new era in the history
of Odia nationalism. By
education, training and
temperament he was most
sensitive to the contemporary
issues concerning the Odia speaking people. Their
stark poverty, humiliation, and sufferings created
a deep scar in his mind. In trying to find out a
prompt remedy he painfully observed the apathy
Odisha Review
of the administration, the political dismemberment
of the race, the absence of adequate economic
opportunities and the lack of proper education.
He had learnt the liberal philosophy of John Stuart
Mill, and studied about the unification movements
in Italy and Germany. These lessons of history
were not lost upon him. He resolved to save the
people from the stupor of ages through education
and political union.
The Utkal Sabha or the Odisha
Association was formed in 1871 to promote Odia
language and literature. Gopal Chandra Dutt, a
domiciled Bengali was its first Secretary. Madhu
Babu closely associated himself with Gouri
Shankar Roy, the editor of Utkal Dipika and
secretary of Utkal Sabha. In course of time the
Sabha concerned itself more and more with
specific problems of the Odia-speaking people
instead of general issues concerning India.
Madhusudan’s stewardship was probably
responsible for this new orientation. In 1885 he
was the Secretary of Utkal Sabha and Vice-
President from 1888.
In November, 1885, when Sir Richard
Thompson, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal
visited Odisha, Utkal Sabha gave a memorandum
to him demanding the merger of Sambalpur and
Ganjam with Odisha Division. To the second
session of the Indian National Congress, held in
December, 1886 the Utkala Sabha sent four
delegates-Madhusudan Das, Golak Chandra
Bose, Hariballabha Ghose and Kalipada
Banerjeee. Madhu Babu was the harbinger of
Congress ideas and activities in Odisha. He also
tried to raise the question of amalgamation of
Odia-speaking areas in the forum of the Indian
National Congress. In November,1888, on the
occasion of the visit of Sir S.C.Bayley, the
lieutenant Governor of Bengal to Odisha, the
Utkal Sabha presented a memorial, demanding
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the unification Odia-speaking territories. In his
reply to the memorial, Bayley turned down the
demand.
In 1895 the Chief Commissioner of the
Central Provinces decided to abolish the Odia
language from official use in the district of
Sambalpur. Such a decision against the interest
of the majority of Odia population in the district
raised a storm of protest not only in that district
but also throughout Odisha. On 20th June 1895,
the Utkal Sabha sent a memorial to Lord Elgin,
the Govenor General, protesting against that unjust
and arbitrary measures. It was observed that the
denial to the people of the use of their mother
tongue was worst form of gagging and was
unknown even in the most despotic form of
government.In1901 some leading men of
Sambalpur suggested Sir Andrew Fraser, the
Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces, that
“If it was thought impossible to have Odia as the
language of the Central Provinces’ district, they
would prefer to be transferred to Odisha”.
Madhusudan, who was then a member of the
Bengal Legislative Council, wrote to Lord Curzon
that the people of Odisha fully supported the
memorial submitted to Sir Andrew Fraser and it
was their desire that the Odia territories should
be placed under a Chief Commissioner. However,
the matter was not settled at that time though Odia
was restored to its rightful place in the district of
Sambalpur from 1st January1903.By the beginning
of 20th century the constitutional agitation in
different parts of the Odia-speaking territories had
started and Madhusudan played a key role in
rousing public enthusiasm on this vital issue.
One of the most outstanding and singular
achievement of MadhuBabu was the organization
of the Utkal Union Conference or Utkal
Sammilani on the 30th and 31st December, 1903
which became the leading socio-political
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organization through which Odia nationalism found
a proper forum for expression. It consisted of the
ruling chiefs, officials and non-officials having
moderate views. The first session of this
Conference was presided over by Maharaja
Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo, the illustrious king
of Mayurbhanj (State). Madhusudan Das was the
Secretary of the Conference. The President
emphasized the main objectives of the Utkal Union
Conference (1) for political progress to unite the
scattered Odia-speaking people, (2) for economic
progress to develop the industrial potentiality of
Odisha and (3) for social progress to ensure the
spread of general, technical and female education.
Representatives from all the Odia-speaking tracts
under Madras, the Central Provinces and Bengal
Governments as many as thirty kings and princes
from the Odia feudatory States under the above
provinces assembled at Cuttack with high hopes
and in great jubilation. Since then the Utkal Union
Conference became a common platform for the
Odias and synonym of their national aspirations.
Every year thereafter during December the annual
sessions were held at different places drawing
together politically minded persons, the elites, the
princes and the peasants to discuss common
problems and suggest remedies.
In the year 1907, he went to England to
convince the British for the utter necessity of
unification of the Odia-speaking areas. Lord
Curzon supported the cause of Odias in the House
of Lords and Mac Cold Scot took the cause of
Odisha in the House of Commons. Consequently,
Odia-speaking tracts were separated from Bengal
to come under the province of Bihar and Orissa,
formed in 1912. The formation of the Province
of Bihar and Odisha was a far cry and
Madhusudan continued to carry on the movement
for the ultimate realization of his mission.
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Odisha Review
The Utkal Union Conference during
its existence from 1903 to 1920 shows that it
concerned itself with problems like (i) Union of
the scattered Odia-speaking people,
(ii) development of industrial potentialities,
(iii) spread of education, (iv) improvement of
agriculture, (v) extension of railways and roads,
(vi) more representation of Odia members in the
Legislative Councils and Imperial Council.
Political unification of the scattered Odia-speaking
tracts was accorded first priority in the agenda of
the conference. Madhusudan Das as the moving
spirit of the Utkal Sammilani, advocated for
industrialization, growth of local crafts and spread
of technical training as essential measures to
remove poverty. Revival of the salt manufacturing
industry and exploitation of natural resources were
some of the proposals he wanted the Govt. to
undertake. At the time of annual sessions, he
organized industrial and agricultural exhibitions to
expose people to new ideas and techniques.
Madhusudan’s leadership and hold
over the Utkal Union Conference during 1903 to
1920 was highly beneficial to the cause of the
Odia-speaking people. The conference drew
closer like-minded persons devoted to the cause
of political unification. All round welfare of the
Odia people was the chief goal of Madhusudan.
During his visit to England in 1907, he distributed
a pamphlet called “Discontented India” in a press
conference, presenting there the genuine problems
of India with particular reference to Odisha. In all
possible ways till his death, he tried to convince
the British authorities, the necessity for merger of
all Odia-speaking tracts. In the year 1917, when
Edwin Montague, the Secretary of State of India,
came to India to ascertain the political views of
Indians, Madhusudan led a deputation and
demanded the merger of all Oriya-speaking areas
in Sub-Province. In December, 1917, he brought
out a weekly journal, titled ‘The Odia’ for
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ventilating the grievances of the Odias. He was
very genuine and emphatic in his voice and action.
As a legislator, Madhu Babu acclaimed
a commendable height of wide appreciation and
position. He was elected a member of the Imperial
Council or the Indian legislative council from the
Bihar and Orissa legislative council on January
20, 1913 and sat in that august assembly till 1916.
He was appointed as Minister in the Bihar and
Orissa Government in 1921 but resigned in 1923
on the issue of making the post of Minister non-
salaried and honorary. Spread of higher education
among women was another noteworthy aspect
of Madhusudan’s social reform activities which
deserves particular mention. Liberation of women
was one of the most important programmes of
Madhusudan’s public life. He worked for
redeeming women from the shackles of the
“Zenana” and wanted them to be equals of men
in every walk of life. Through his effort, a Girls’
High School was started in 1908, in Cuttack, to
teach the girls up to the matriculation standard.
Madhusudan held women in great
esteem. He did not want them to suffer under
social, economical or political disabilities under
the umbrage of sex-disqualification. Speaking on
a Special Resolution on franchise for women in
the Bihar and Orissa Legislative Council on
November 23, 1921, he had said “It is the
disqualification which I object to.
Madhu Babu paid sufficient attention for
industrialization of modern Odisha and tried his
best for revival of our indigenous cottage
industries. He established ‘Odisha Art Wares’ for
manufacturing highly artistic filigree products which
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earned reputation for its brilliance and excellence
in designs, presentation and craftsmanship. In
course of time, the delicate filigree works of the
Orissa Art Wares became internationally famous
and used to be marketed to the fashion capitals
of Europe. He had manufactured improved
‘Charkha’ for spinning of the yarn from the cotton,
which had attracted the attention of Mahatma
Gandhi. Besides this, he started from the year
1905 the export orientated venture of ‘Utkal
Tannery’ in close association with the subjugated
untouchables. The quality of the products
manufactured by Utkal Tannery were of such a
high standard that the boots manufactured by
Utkal Tannery were used by the Soldiers during
the First World War. Gandhi was overwhelmed
on visiting the Utkal Tannery at Cuttack in 1925.
Thus, Madhu Babu was the moving
spirit for about half a century in the political,
economic and social life of Odisha. He breathed
his last on 4th February.1934.Odisha was about
to emerge as a separate entity in the body politic
of India. But the architect of new Odisha was not
there to guide its destiny any more. But his
immense contributions towards the State and
Nation would be admired forever and he will
continue to remain as a source of motivation for
the younger generations.
Balabhadra Ghadai, Principal, M.K.College, Khiching,
Mayurbhanj.
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Spectacular Solar Eclipses Visible in Odisha
in Near Past
A mong the spectacular solar eclipses of
Odisha in near past was a Total eclipse on
February 16, 1980 and a Partial Eclipse of
October 24, 1995. No Annular eclipse has been
seen so far in Odisha in near past.
Great Total Eclipse of 1980
The path of totality for the great solar
eclipse of 1980 began in the South Atlantic
Ocean, travelled across Africa at the South of
the Equator, swept over the Arabian Sea,
Southern India, the Northern tip of the Bay of
Bengal, Southern Bangladesh and a small stretch
of eastern India before ending over the South
China Sea at sunset. The shadow entered Odisha
at Koraput and subsequently passed over
Berhampur , Bhubanewar and Puri. The centre
of the totality directly passed over the Sun temple
of Konark before heading towards the Bay of
Bengal. At Puri (Latitude 190 48', Longitude 850
49'), the peak period of the eclipse was 3.46 P.M.
in the afternoon when the Sun was at an altitude
of 230 over the horizon. The totality of the eclipse
was visible for duration of 2 minutes 13 seconds
when the Sun completely vanished from the sky
lying behind the Moon. Despite the low elevation
of the Sun in the sky, the sky was clear and the
visibility at Puri was exceptionally good. During
the totality, Sun’s corona could clearly be seen.
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Odisha Review
Nikunja Bihari Sahu
The birds were reportedly confused at the sudden
onset of the nightfall and started returning to their
nests in flocks.
As not much awareness regarding
eclipses has been created at that time, people got
perplexed and panicked and kept themselves
indoors. Schools and colleges were declared
holidays on that day because of the eclipse.
However, media interest was not as extensive as
the nature and rarity of such an event deserved.
Surprisingly, there was little or no interest evinced
by students, teachers and the general intelligentsia
which included the vast majority of educated
people. School science teachers who taught
about eclipses using blackboards in their
classrooms appeared to show no interest in
observing a real one especially one that promised
such a great spectacle !
Great Partial Eclipse of 1995
Unlike the previous eclipse, the people
were eager to come outside and watch at the
progressive stages of the eclipse through special
filter specks. As the totality of the eclipse travelled
through a narrow belt over North India, from
Alwar in Rajasthan to Diamond Harbour in West
Bengal, the eclipse was partial in Odisha. The
eclipse commenced in the morning and
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Odisha Review
progressed as per prediction reaching the
maximum stage at 8.46 A.M. At the peak of the
eclipse, Sun’s elevation angle was nearly 390 that
means the Sun was quite high in the sky to make
eclipse clearly visible. Despite the morning
conditions, the sky was clear and the eclipse could
clearly be seen. The obstruction of the solar disc
was almost 92% and the daylight decreased
dramatically bringing down the ambient
temperature to some extent during the peak stage
of the eclipse. Birds were seen circling in the sky
erratically in confusion and trees closing down
their leaves in apprehension of the nightfall. Sun’s
light seemed to be soft resembling a late winter
afternoon hue. People tried to have a glimpse of
the eclipse through special solar spectacles and
large scale propagonda was carried out by various
organizations regarding the safe observation of
the eclipse.
A solar eclipse usually occurs on a New
Moon day when the Moon lies between the Sun
and the Earth in a straight line blocking the Sun to
cast a shadow on the Earth. While during a Total
Solar Eclipse, the Sun completely vanishes from
the sky causing a temporary nightfall, a Partial
eclipse, on the other hand, is marked by an
incomplete obstruction of the Sun by the Moon.
However, the most spectacular event is the
Annular eclipse when the Moon only obstructs
the central part of the Sun leaving its fiery outer
ring visible.
Although annular or total solar eclipses
are not very rare, very few people have really a
chance of witnessing the event in their life time.
The reason behind this strange phenomenon is
that such eclipses are usually seen over a very
narrow strip of path sometimes passing over seas
and inaccessible parts of the globe. Hence,
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observing a solar eclipse is really a life time
experience !
Through the ages, the sudden darkening
or disappearance of the Sun has been seen as a
sign of displeasure of Gods or an omen of
turbulent activities. In Chinese mythology, an
eclipse is interpreted as a dragon devouring the
Sun in the sky. In our Indian mythology, two
hungry demons named Rahu and Ketu are
believed to be swallowing the Sun during the
eclipse. There are many myths prevalent in our
society in Odisha regarding the eclipse. People
used to observe penance and fasting during the
eclipse as it is believed that the food cooked during
the eclipse turn toxic. Pregnant women are advised
to stay indoors in the belief of harmful impacts of
the eclipsed rays on the unborn baby. People are
also advised not to embark on distant journeys
during the eclipse. Rituals of deities are generally
altered in the temples due to the eclipse. People
used to take baths and offer puja in temples after
the eclipse.
Grand celestial spectacles are not
generally welcomed in our dogma dominated Odia
society. What really disturbing is the unchanging
mindset of the people even in the light of the
convincing scientific evidences put forward to
explain these celestial phenomena. It is quite
ridiculous to shut oneself indoors when a
spectacular and a rare natural event is unfolding
up in our backyard. We should not only free
ourselves from these bizarre beliefs, but also
develop a sense of curiosity and scientific mindset
to unravel the mystery of nature.
Nikunja Bihari Sahu, Education Officer, Regional Science
Centre, Shyamla Hills, Banganga Road, Bhopal, Madhya
Pradesh.
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The Odia Identity Movement and
Maharaja K. C. Gajapati Narayan Deo
O disha became a separate province
independent of Bihar on 1st April, 1936 due
to the untiring effort and endeavour of some great
sons of the soil of Odisha. Among those great
sons, one distinguishing figure, christen as one of
the makers of ‘Modern Odisha’ and hailed for
his selfless service to the people
was the former Maharaja of
Parlakhemundi, Sree Krushna
Chandra Gajapati Narayan
Deo. A champion of Odia
identity, language and culture, he
remained at the forefront of
Odia identity movement and led
the struggle to a successful
conclusion. After the formation
of the province, he assumed the
reins of administration of the
nascent province and working
within the limits of colonial
control endeavoured his best to
serve the people. A life
orientated for the good of the
public, he was instrumental in the setting up of the
Utkal University, the SCB Medical College, and
the Rice Research Institute at Cuttack, all
institutions of repute and reminiscent of his far-
sighted personality.
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Odisha Review
Dr. Sarat Parida
Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo
was born on 26 April, 1892 at Parlakhemundi in
the ruling family of Parlakhemundi estate, one of
the prominent zamindari estate of the then Ganjam
Agency. His early education was affected as at
the tender age of 12, he lost his father Goura
Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo.
However, he pursued his higher
education in Newington College,
Madras; a preferred college of
the time for the education of the
sons of the landed aristocrats of
Madras Presidency. After
completing education in the
college, he returned to
Parlakhemundi and assumed the
charge of affairs of his zamindari
estate on 26 April 2013; the day
coincided with his birth day.
Prior to this, the Parlakhemundi
zamindari was under the Court
of Wards owing to the death of
his father.
To his utter dismay, the Maharaja found
that the Odia territories had been dismembered
and attached to different neighbouring provinces
for administrative convenience. Deeply moved by
the plight of the Odias in the outlying areas, he
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realised the need of amalgamating the Odia-
speaking territories. Encouraged by the enchanting
idea of the creation of a province on linguistic
basis, an idea espoused by Madhusudan Das and
others, he joined the mainstream of Odia
Movement spearheaded by Utkal Sammilani.
With a crusading zeal, he worked for realising his
cherished objective; the unification of Odia-
speaking tracts especially transferring Ganjam
from Madras Presidency to Odisha.
In 1913, he invited the Governor of
Madras, Lord Pentland to Parlakhemundi and in
a memorandum presented to him urged for the
merger of Odia-speaking territories including
Parlakhemundi with Odisha. The 10th annual
session of the Utkal Union Conference was held
at Parlakhemudi for two days in the last week of
December 1914. This was organised under the
personal care and supervision of the Maharaja
with the intended objective of giving a lease of
life to the Odia movement in the region. Some
notable figures of the Odia movement including
Madhusudan Das, Gopabandhu Das, Fakir
Mohan Senapati, and others attended the
Conference. It reiterated the demand for the
creation of a separate province by unifying the
Odia-speaking areas under one administration.
The leaders also extolled Krushna Chandra
Gajapati for extending all help and cooperation
in organising the Conference.
During the First World War, like
Mahatma Gandhi he helped the British in its war
effort and for this, the British conferred on him
the title of ‘Raja Saheb’; this was made hereditary
in 1922. On the demand for formation of
provinces on linguistic lines, apparently stemmed
from the Odia movement, the Montague-
Chelmsford Committee nodded the idea in
affirmative and Mahatma Gandhi too preferred
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such arrangements. In 1924, a Committee
consisting of C. L. Philip and A. C. Duff known
as the Philip-Duff Committee was appointed to
ascertain the views of Odia-speaking people in
the Madras Presidency on the question of their
merger with Odisha. At the behest of K.C.
Gajapati Narayan Deo several delegations of Odia
people met the Committee and pleaded that there
was a genuine desire among Odia people in
Madras for amalgamation with Odisha.
The visit of Simon Commission in 1928
created great controversy and uproar in the
country as it was an ‘all white Commission’. The
Commission was appointed to review the working
of the Government of India Act, 1919 but it was
boycotted by the Indian National Congress. In
line with the decision of the central organization,
the Odisha unit of the Congress Party too
maintained its distance from the Commission.
However, to convince the commission regarding
the genuine demands of the people Madhusudan
Das and Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan
Deo, the two front leaders working for the Odia
movement met the Commission at Patna and
Madras respectively, and appealed for the
formation of a separate province. The Maharaja
also appealed to the Odias to put up their case
before the Commission and to cooperate with it.
On the basis of Simon Commission
report, the British Government convened the first
Round Table Conference at London in 1930 to
solve the Indian problem. The Conference was
boycotted by the Indian National Congress but
unperturbed by the development; the Maharaja
travelled to London and tried his best to impress
the delegates, the British authorities on the need
and rationality of a new province for the Odia
people. In London, he met Sir Samuel Hoare,
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the Secretary of States for India and convinced
him about the genuineness of the demand of the
Odias. The O’ Donnell Boundary Committee
appointed in September 1931 to demarcate the
boundary of the proposed province was largely
the fruition of his labour during the Round Table
Conference. However, the report of the
Committee was not to the liking of the Maharaja
as it excluded Jeypore and Parlakhemundi from
the proposed province.
In the aftermath of the O’ Donnell
Boundary Committee report, the Odia movement
became more orientated towards amalgamation
of Parlakhemundi and Jeypore with Odisha. The
23rd Session of Utkal Union Conference met at
Berhampur under the presidentship of the
Maharaja and demanded the integration of
estates of Parlakhemundi and Jeypore with
Odisha. A deputation of Odias under his
leadership met the Viceroy Lord Wellingdon at
Simla and drew his attention to the injustice done
to the Odias in the O’Donnell Committee report.
On the basis of discussions at the Round Table
Conferences, the British Government
published the ‘White Paper’ on 17th March 1933
containing the proposal for creation of two new
provinces viz., Odisha and Sind. However, it
excluded the estates of Jeypore and
Parlakhemundi from the proposed Odisha
Province. The ‘White Paper’ was referred to the
Joint Parliamentary Committee for consideration.
Krushna Chandra Gajapati again travelled to
England to plead for the inclusion of the estates
of Parlakhemundi and Jeypore with Odisha.
Heading a delegation of seven members, he met
the Secretary of States on 3rd July 1933 and
submitted a representation. The Joint
Parliamentary Committee finally recommended the
constitution of new province of Odisha, but
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Odisha Review
enlarged the boundaries with the addition of
Jeypore and Parlakhemundi estates. On the basis
of the report of the Joint Parliamentary
Committee, the British Parliament passed the
Government of India Act, 1935 and in this Act,
Odisha was given an independent administrative
status as a province. Thus, the new Odisha
Province emerged comprising six districts viz.,
Cuttack, Puri, Balasore, Sambalpur, Ganjam and
Koraput. This was largely due to the ceaseless
work of the Maharaja who reminded the Odias
not to be complacent with the achievement but to
work hard for the development of the state.
Following the formation of the province,
the scheme of provincial autonomy as provided
in the Government of India Act, 1935 was put in
to practice. The Maharaja got elected to the
provincial assembly and at the invitation of
Governor of Odisha, Sir John Austin Hubback
formed the ministry on 1st April 1937. His ministry
resigned on 13th July 1937 after the Congress
Party decided to allow Congressmen to accept
offices in the provinces. The Maharaja heading
a coalition ministry assumed office for the second
time on 24th November, 1941 after the Congress
ministry resigned in protest against the British
decision of making India a party to the Second
World War. He remained in office for more than
two and half years but resigned on 30th June 1944
owing to internal differences within the ministry.
During his short tenure in office, he adopted certain
epoch making measures. The Utkal University
established on 27th November 1943, later
emerged as a premier institution in the field of
higher education in the state. In fact, showing rare
example, he donated his entire salary drawn as
the Prime Minister to the Utkal University Fund.
The fruits of his labour and initiative culminated in
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the setting up of Odisha High Court on 26 July
1948.
Besides working for the unification of Odia-
speaking tracts, he devoted his time and resources
for the promotion of Odia language, literature and
culture. He made generous contribution for the
development of Sakhigopal School founded by
Pandit Gopabandhu Das, and the Utkal Sahitya
Samaj, an institution for promotion of Odia
literature. He made monetary contribution for the
publication of Purna Chandra Odia Bhasa
Kosha of Gopal Chandra Praharaj. He also
established a printing press named as Gajapati
Press for disseminating awareness among the
people. A champion of female education, he
converted his palatial mansion into girl’s school.
He was not only an acclaimed leader and organiser
in Odisha but had considerable clout in the politics
of Madras Province. In 1930, he was elected to
the Madras Legislative Assembly from the
Ganjam Constituency. He was a member of the
Royal Agriculture Commission which was
appointed in 1927 under the chairmanship of Lord
Linlithgow. Krushna Chandra Gajapati improved
the irrigation system by planning and digging many
water reservoirs such as Ramasagar, Sitasagar
and Krishnasagar etc. Far-sighted and
progressive in his outlook, he realised the necessity
of improving communication facilities and
constructed 57 mile long railway track from
Nuapada to Gunupur. The Viceroy and Governor
General of India, Lord Wellingdon as a mark of
distinction awarded him the title of ‘Maharaja’
in 1936.
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Maharaja Krishna Chandra Gajapati
Narayan Deo was one of the doyens of Odia
movement who played a crucial role in the
unification of Odia-speaking areas and the
formation of the province. On many occasions,
he travelled to England to convince the colonial
authorities the genuineness of the demands of
Odia people. In his eventful career, spanning from
assumption of charge of Parlakhemundi zamindari
in 1913 to his death in 1974, he dedicated himself
in the service of the state and its people. In fact,
his indomitable will, persuasive nature and
leadership helped a great deal in giving a final
shape to the dream and desire of people for a
separate province. A path finder for the Odia
people in many aspects in the crucial phase of
nation building, he embodied the virtues of an
organiser, an administrator, and a philanthropist.
References:
1. B.B. Jena, Orissa, People, Culture, and Polity,
Ludhiana, 1981.
2. P. Sankar Narayan Patro, Krushna Chandra
Gajapati Narayan Deo: The Maharaja of
Parlakhemundi, Berhampur, 1981.
3. S. Ghosh, Orissa in Turmoil (A Study in Political
Developments), Bhubaneswar, 1979.
4. S. Parida, Politics and Agrarian Changes in Post-
Colonial Odisha, Bhubaneswar, 2014.
5. S. C. Patra, The Formation of the Province of
Orissa, Calcutta, 1979.
Dr. Sarat Parida, Asst. Professor in History, Government
(Auto) College, Angul.
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Utkala Gourav Madhusudan : A Tribute
The conscience keeper of Odia people,
who draws our love and admiration.
The strategist who fought for the liberty of
Odias from the yoke of British dominion.
A patriot who was instrumental in unifying
various tracts scattered outside Odisha
and raising our nationalism.
A barrister who gave Justice to the poor and
disadvantaged with zeal and enthusiasm.
Humility personified, Madhu Babu,
is the icon and our role model.
He moulded the minds of millions
and was a priceless jewel.
Freedom movement in Odisha got a new
direction and dynamism by him and it was
pivotal.
His noble motive to establish “Utkala
Sammilani” for the prestige of Odia language
made him immortal.
He established “Utkal Tannery” for the
self sufficiency, self-reliance and dignity of
labour of the common man.
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Odisha Review
Prabhudutt Dash
He defied casteism, superstition and
opposed British administration.
“Utkala Gaurav” aptly called, he dedicated
his entire life for our well being and
emancipation.
His life is a true example of selflessness,
devotion and dedication.
He is a guiding star of Odishan politics
whose heart was moved by
compassion and kindness.
His love for motherland was unique and
limitless.
Let us emulate his footprints and
get inspired by his desired goal.
It will be a perfect tribute to this noble
and immortal soul.
Prabhudutt Dash, Plot No: 307, Haladipadia, Sarala
Nagar, Laxmisagar, Bhubaneswar- 751006,
E mail: 1977tiku@gmail.com.
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Odisha Review ISSN 0970-8669

Utkal Dibas
Er. Raghunath Patra

Long struggle offered Crown of success Institutes are to be erected many.

On first April 1936, got Odisha Pradesh. For that state requires sufficient fund
Due to sacrifice of Gajapati K.C. Dev We want network of communication
Madhusudan Das, Gopabandhu Das & others. connecting all remote places around.

Gajapati donated wealth and opulence Centre should have a first-rate look
Sincere struggle made Madhusudan poor. to uplift condition of our beloved State
During flood and famine Gopabandhu Das to march ahead on the path of progress.
rendered services to distressed, door to door. All will remain with hearts content.

Sadheikala, Kharasuan Odia speeking lands I hail You, Oh Utkal Janani !

could not remain in Odisha, imparted grief for Your riches in natural resources,
Every year we memorize pioneer souls mines, forest, river and marine wealth
Pay regards with heart-felt brief. Art and culture of uniqueness.

Archives of Konark, Bhubaneswar, Srimandir For Your celestial grace, Oh mother !

Jaga Akhada, Paikas battle tricks, Lord Jagannath abides in Srimandir
Odia merchants franchise of voyage Lord Bhubaneswar in Lingaraj Temple
depict greatness of our ancestors. Divine Heads abide everywhere.

Odisha is opulent in natural riches.

We are not sordid in national charter.
In Literature, Science, Arts culture high.
We should gain back previous glamour.

Even poverty has been waved away

still then exist in nook and corner,
No doubt, we advance day by day Er. Raghunath Patra, Brindaban Dham, Lokanath Road,
to par with our beloved neighbour. Patnahat Sahi Chhaka, Puri-752001.

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The Peasant Movements in Odisha
1936-1990
T he Krushak Sabha was established in 1936
at Bagalpur near Gobindpur, Cuttack. On
10 June, 1935 a peasant convention was
th
organized in Cuttack under the leadership of
Godavarish Mishra. It was presided over by
Mohanlal Goutam. On 26th June, 1936, Dr.
Pattavi Sitaramayya presided over a peasant
movement in princely states, which was later
known as Orissa States Peoples Conference.
Sarangadhara Das was the Secretary of this
Conference. Nilagiri, Jenapur (Cuttack),
Dhenkanal, Talcher were the main centres of
peasant movement at that time. The Communist
leaders like Prananath Patnaik, Gangadhar
Paikray organized a big peasants conference in
Chandmani field near Khurda. In Kakatpur near
Astaranga a meeting was held under the leadership
of Purnananda Swain and Gatikrushna Swain.
Bhagabati Panigrahi was the president of this
meeting.
A meeting of farmers and peasants was
organized in Shergarh, Ganjam under the
communist leader Govinda Pradhan. The main
demands were :
(a) Abolition of Mustadari System
(b) Land to the tillers.
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Odisha Review
Sujata Barik
When some Communist leaders got
elected to the Assembly they played active roles
to fulfill some demands of the farmers like :
(a) Free distribution of land among
agricultural labourers and poor peasants.
(b) Abolition of landlordism without
compensation.
(c) Agrarian reforms.
(d) Abolition of Zamindari system and all
types of intermediary system.
(e) 5:3 system will prevail over 3:2 system in
share – croppers.
(f) Free from British imperialism.
(g) Abolition of money lending.
(h) Unification of agricultural and industrial
unit, land to the tillers, land reforms and
land to the landless.1
Due to the efforts of Communist leaders
zamindari system, makaddama, Inamda
Sarbarkari, Mustadari and Guntia which were
different forms of intermediary system were
abolished. In 1943, the Communist leaders like
B.C. Panigrahi, Bijaya Chandra Dash, G.C.
Pattanaik, Sadhu Charan Mohanty organized a
peasant’s rally at Shergarh of Ganjam.
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Odisha Review
Their main demand was to provide land
to the landless. To achieve this goal a red army of
the youths of Shergarh, Badagad, Sanakhemundi,
Dharakat, Badakhemundi was formed, who were
given training by INA comrades like Batch Patra
and Narasingha Moharana. This youth army
captured unused lands in Kiritipur and Shergarh
of Ganjam. These lands were distributed among
the landless people subsequently.
The Krushaka Sabha of Ganjam district
called a meeting of peasants at Cuttack where 5
to 6 thousands of people attended the meeting.
The Communist leaders like Govinda Pradhan,
Harihara Dash, Surya Narayan Acharya, Nanda
Kishor Pradhan, Ramachandra Padhi took the
leading role there.
On 24th – 28th August, 1964 CPI, Odisha
unit called an agitation against the price hike of
necessary commodities. The leaders took part in
agitations in Kujunga, Athagarh, Marshaghai
Dhanmandal, Jajpur Road, Cuttack, Badabil,
Sonepur, Bargarh, Baripada, Khurda, Aska,
Berhampur, Dhenkanal, Bolangir. The Communist
leaders like Durga Charana Mohanty,
Ramkrushna Pati, Lokanath Choudhury,
Dushasana Jena, Braja Pattanaik, P.N. Pattanaik,
Gatikrushna Swain, Somanath Patra, Rangadhar
Biswal, Prana Krushna Padhi, Panchanana
Moharana were arrested and they had to remain
in jail for quite some time. Leaders had also
organized party meetings in several districts during
21-28th May, 1965 for protection of democratic
rights of people along with the demand to ensure
food for all.
In 1960, the land ceiling was fixed at 75
acres by the Congress government, when it made
the Land Reform Act. However due to the
effective and influential role of CPI leaders, this
was reduced to 20 acres in 1965.
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Subsequently the Orissa High Court
dismissed the Land Reform Act as a case was
filed by a land owner of Bolangir. The Swatantra
– Jana Congress Government of 1967 in Odisha
did not try to protect it at the level of Supreme
Court. So the C.P.I. leaders were forced to resort
to protest movements in various parts of the state.
The C.P.I. and other leftist leaders
protested against the existing Water Policy. The
Swatantra Jana Congress did not abolish the
policy although it promised so to the people before
coming to power.
There was a big protest movement by the
farmers in Bolangir – Sambalpur under the
guidance of CPI state leaders.
The CPI had taken a lead role to unite
and secure the interests of farmers and labourers
during Swatantra Jana Congress Government on
22nd October, 1967, the CPI organized a state
level Protest Movement in Cuttack, Mahanga,
Jagatsinghpur, Khurda, Dhenkanal, Bargarh,
Chandbali and Ranapur to rehabilitate flood and
cyclone affected people on 1st March, 1968. The
CPI had organized an agitation to provide rights
on waste land including fallow land as a result of
which 700 Communist leaders were arrested in
Khurda.2 The farmers of Samkhunta Panchayat
in Mayurbhanj had protested against Water Tax
under the leadership of Communist leaders on 30-
31 March, 1968. The 8th State Krushaka Sabha
Conference was held at Khurda on 17-18 April,
1968 in which Z.A. Ahmed had addressed the
gathering.
In 1968, the farmers of Ranapur, Barpali
of Sambalpur and Bolangir district under the
Communist leaders agitated against the policy of
Government and demanded that the farmers could
get canal water after giving application only. On
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17th November, 1968, the party organized
“Krushaka Sabha” convention at Bhubaneswar.
The party leaders agitated against the anti-
people budget of 1967 Swatantra – Jana
Congress Government, protest movements in
Ganjam, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Salipur,
Nischintakoili, Marshaghai, Tangi, Aul,
Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Begunia, Nimapara,
Ranapur, Bolangir, Bargarh, Balasore, Chandbali
were organized by these Communist leaders.
In 1970, under the leadership of
Communist Party a peasant agitation was
organized to capture the lands of landlords and
unused lands. At the end they could be able to
take control of 20,800 acres of lands.3 In 1970
with the help of Krushaka Sabha, Trade Union
and Kshet Majdoor organization party leaders
organized agitations to take control of unused and
barren lands. It was successful in Gurudijhatia in
Athagrh, Mangalpur in Soro Begunia in Puri,
Bhanjanagar in Ganjam, Vyas Sarobar in Cuttack.
Farmers in large number had participated in this
agitational programme. In the second phase the
lands of Rajas and zamindars were snatched away
at Dhenkanal and Bolangir and the Communist
leaders like Ramakrushna Pati, Prasanna Kumar
Panda, Ramachandra Mishra, Braja Mohapatra
were arrested and were thrown into jail. It was
an important phase in the land reform movement
in Odisha.4 Between 1969 and 1970 there was
an agitation in Marshaghai. During the same time,
being inspired by Communist leaders, nearly
fifteen thousand farmers of Brajarajnagar and its
nearby areas had demanded for providing land
patta to them. On 19th to 23rd September, 1973
the eleventh session of “Krushaka Sabha” was
held at Manikajoda, Puri, many communist
leaders had participated, CPI leaders had made
their demands for land, irrigation, more wage to
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Odisha Review
the farmers, land reform etc. during Nandini’s
Congress Government. To protect the interest of
share croppers and better land reforms, a
convertion was organized of the leaders.
Subsequently, the Revenue Minister Bankabihari
Das of Nandini Government made some
modifications on share croppers’ law after the
above protest movement in 1976.
In 1977 the party leaders observed 1st
September as the farmers day under the leadership
of Hrushikesh Pradhan, an active Communist
leader. An agitation was staged at Angul to protect
the interest of poor farmers at the time of settlement
in 1979. At the call of the party leaders, 25
thousand of people protested against Bhatalingam
Committee report and demanded better land
reform, proper distribution of land and a revision
in central law for Kshet Majdoors. In August,
1980 the party leaders organized protest
movements in Kendrapara, Naugan,
Jagatsinghpur, Ersama, Bolgarh, Kakatpur on the
issue of price hike, land to the tiller, exemption of
agricultural loan.
In 1981 a joint meeting of party and
Krushaka Sabha was held and 16 point
memorandum was given to the State Government.
Subsequently, Rajeswar Rao of All India
Communist Party visited the flood affected area
of Odisha. Odisha state unit party organized
demonstrations for the miserable condition of
flood affected people in Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam,
Boud and Phulbani. On 2nd September, 1984 at
Bhadrak the party leaders organized a great
protest rally on 15 point demand on jute, rice
price, irrigation, and wages of the working class.
On April, 1986, the golden jubilee of
“Krushak Sabha” was observed. In this year also
party leaders protested against the house
demolition campaign of the municipality in
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Jharsuguda and Adivasi eviction from land in
Mohana of Ganjam. The party had demanded
for the distribution of 5 thousand acres of unused
land in Ganjam district.
On 1st September, 1987, which was
observed as “Krushaka Sabha Day” party leaders
organized protest movements in all regions of the
state and their main demands were: - Land to the
landless people, more wages to the Kshet
Majdoors, housing land to the homeless.
On 11th May, 1988 both CPI and CPI
(M) jointly made a 14 point demand which
included land reform, exempt from loan, supply
of commodities in low price, controlling of flood
and famine. 5 In 1989 at Kushapali of
Paralakhemundi, 1500 farmers of 47 villages with
Red Flag marched to capture the ceiling surplus
land. Then followed the state level Krushak
Convention at Puri on 27th August, 1989, which
was attended by Krishna Rao. In another move
CPI’s Cuttack unit leaders resisted against the
Government’s (Police and Revenue Department)
attempts to snatch away 45 acres of seacoast
cultivated land from the farmers. On 14th March,
1990-1991 the party leaders gladly accepted the
Biju Patnaik’s Janata Government’s decision of
minimum wage hike to rupees twenty five.
CPI (M) Leadership
The Communist Party of India (M) made
a great contribution in the field of Peasant
Movement. They were very much concerned with
the future of peasant demand and radical changes
in the agrarian sector. The Communist formed “All
Odisha Kissan Sabha affiliated to AIKS
demanding land to the tiller, abolition of “Bethi”
etc. When in the Garjat areas “Praja Andolan”
was at its peak in 1936, the peasant movement
got momentum in “Moghalbandi” regions. A
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peasant meeting was held at Cuttack under the
chairmanship of Mohanlal Goutam. Godabarish
Mishra was presiding over the meeting. Young
Communists, who were the members of
Krushaka Sabha gave a revolutionary touch to
the peasant movement in Odisha. They organized
many Krushak Sabhas in undivided Puri, Cuttack
and Balasore. The Communist Party (M) of
Odisha formed its peasant wing “Odisha Krushak
Sabha” in 1968 after its split in 1964. The founding
President of Odisha Krushak Sabha was
Banamali Das.
Sri Banamali Das who was a leading
Communist leader played a very significant role
in mobilizing the peasants of Nilagiri of Balasore
district. The peasant movement took a violent turn
there like that of in Telengana Movement in Andhra
Pradesh. The peasants captured some lands of
Nilagiri Raja. An annual meeting of Gobindapur
Krushak Sabha was held at Khantapada on 24th
– 25th May, 1973. CPI (M) Cuttack district
Secretary Ajay Rout presided over the meeting.
Sri Bansidhar Das invited all the peasants, Kshet
Majdoor to be united under the Red flag to get
their demands fulfilled. Chief Speaker of the
meeting was Sri Shivaji Pattnaik and he criticized
the Congress Government for its indifferent
attitude to solve the problems of peasants. Land
to the landless was the primary demand of
Krushak Sabha.
A meeting was held on 5-6 July, 1973 at
Bhubaneswar under the Chairmanship of
Khagendranath Jena. R.C. Panda Secretary of
Odisha Krushaka Sabha pointed out about that
the role of Krushaka Sabha on the issues like land
reforms, price hike, unemployment etc. He said
that the peasant should be organized to put their
demands on food for work, wage enhancement,
irrigation etc. Annual conference of Nilagiri Chasi
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Mulia Samiti was organized on 19-20 July, 1974.
Govind Singh, Kailash Panda. Aparti Nayak,
organized the meeting. Iswar Das pointed out the
miseries of peasants and called for the generation
of class consciousness among the peasants and
majdoors. Odisha Krushak Sabha participated
in the mass movements and made demands like
food for work, hike of agricultural loan, repeal of
black ordinance etc. They did it in Balasore, Puri,
Kanasha, Brahmagiri, Niali and Khantapada.
Eleventh State conference of the party
was held at Tangi on 1-2 March, 1975. Shivaji
Pattanaik hosted the Red flag of Krushak Sabha
and Banamali Das President of Odisha Krushak
Sabha read out its annual report. Shantimaya
Ghosh of West Bengal Krushak Sabha addressed
the meeting and urged to fight for the end of
exploitation and miseries of the peasants. He even
suggested to make every village a unit of Krushak
Sabha until the farmers owned the land they tilled,
there would be no development of our country
and of the peasants also.
A meeting of Odisha Krushak Sabha was
also held on 21st June, 1976 at Bhubaneswar. It
was presided over by Banamali Das and the
following demands were made :-
(a) To ensure to the farmers the right to form
association and wage agitation.
(b) To include the leaders of the Farmers’
Association in the land reformed
committee.
(c) To open control shops in villages and
(d) To provide loans to the marginal farmers
immediately.6
Odisha Krushaka Sabha organized its
12 State Conference at Balasore Town Hall on
th
19-20 June, 1978. President of Krushak Sabha,
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Odisha Review
Banamali Das hoisted the red flag and a Steering
Committee was formed comprising Shivaji
Pattnaik, Himanshu Nandi, Ramesh Chandra
Panda, Khitis Biswal and Jagannath Mishra.
Resolutions were made on issues of land reform,
irrigation, exploitation of Adivasis and Harijans,
bonded labour, Centre-State relation, flood and
famine.7
A new committee was formed with the
following office bearers.
(a) Banamali Das – President of Committee.
(b) Shivaji Pattanaik and R.C. Panda – Vice
President of Committee.
(c) Khitis Biswal – General Secretary of
Committee.
(d) Jagannath Mishra, Bansidhar Das and
Himanshu Nandi as Secretaries.
On 26th July, 1980 Ganjam District
Krushak Sabha called for unity among all the
farmers to revolt against the problems faced by
them. Dandapani Mohanty presided over the
meeting. Decision was taken to launch a
demonstration against the Government on the
following issues.
(a) Price rise of the essential commodities,
(b) The hiking of prices of fertilizers, seeds
and other input and instruments of
agricultural production.
Shivaji Pattanaik, Vice-President, Orissa
Krushak Sabha had presided over a meeting on
21-22th April, 1981 at Berhampur, which was
organized by Brahmagiri Krushna Prasad Block
Committee.
The main demands of the leaders were8 :-
(a) Old age pension for peasants and
agricultural workers.
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Odisha Review
(b) Work for agricultural workers
(Guaranteed employment)
(c) Introduction of crop insurance.
(d) Subsidised food for peasants.
(e) Supply of electricity to the peasants.
On 6 th September, 1981, Orissa
Krushak Sabha decided to start a civil
disobedience movement against the Government
on 24-25th September 1981. The demands
were :-
(i) Irrigation facilities to the farmers.
(ii) Declaration of procurement price of
paddy and rice.
(iii) Supply of essential commodities at
regulated price through sale counters
opened in every Gram Panchayat.
(iv) Procurement centre be opened in every
Gram Panchayat.
(v) Supply of Rice @ Rs. 1.75 per kg to the
poor.
A Krushak Convention was organized on
12 June, 1983 at Bhubaneswar jointly by Utkal
th
Krushak Sabha, Orissa Krushak Sabha, Kissan
Sammilani and Kissan Janata. The leaders
participated in a rally and supported a call for
“Orissa Bandh”. Krushak leaders demanded that
the State Government should stop collecting
agricultural loans as the peasants had suffered loss
due to the failure of crops following natural
calamities like flood, drought and cyclone.
Krushak Sabha of Sambalpur district was
held on 8th June, 1984 at Charbati, Rairakhole
sub-division. The following demands were made:-
(a) To provide irrigation facility through
canals.
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(b) To provide people the right to collect
forest products.
(c) Minimum Rs. 200/- per quintal of Kendu
leaves.
(d) Burning of forests be stopped.
On 9th – 10th May, 1985, Orissa State
Krushak Sangha Council was held at
Bhubaneswar under the Chairmanship of Ramesh
Chandra Panda.
All India Krushak Sabha General
Secretary, Shantimoy Ghosh addressed the
Council and the state leaders criticized the
Government for its anti-peasant policies. He
demanded that the peasants should be provided
rice at the rate of Rs. 2/- per kg and work
throughout the year. The golden jubilee celebration
of All India Kissan Sabha was held in 1986,
where the members urged for a radical peasant
movement in Odisha.
On 10th September, 1987 a large number
of peasants participated in a civil disobedience
movement in front of Vidhan Sabha under the Joint
leadership of Orissa Krushak Sabha and Orissa
Kshet Majdoor Union at Bhubaneswar. Jagannath
Mishra, Khitish Biswal, Tapasi Praharaj,
Nabakishore Mohanty were at the forefront of
the movement. Satyagrahis like Jagannath Mishra
in Paralakhemundi, Jaganath Reddy in Chikiti,
Prasanna Panigrahi in Aska, Kalu Panda and
Basudev Gouda in Soroda, Bimal Rana in
Bhanjanagar, Bijaya Baliar Singh in Khurda,
Purna Samantroy in Ranpur demonstrated
vehemently as a result of which some were
arrested and others were lathicharged by the
police.9
Odisha Krushak Sabha, Orissa Kshet –
Majdoor Union, Utkal Krushak Sabha and All
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India Kshet Majdoor Union jointly participated
in state-wide civil disobedience movement
between 5th September and 9th September 1988
as per the call given by central leftist organizations.
Shivaji Pattanaik, Jagannath Mishra, Iswar Das,
Khitis Biswas, Janardan Pati, Sachikanta Pani and
Bansidhar Das were spearheading the
movement.10
All India Kissan Sabha was held at
Khaman, Telengana, Andhra Pradesh in 1989,
which was the epicentre of peasant. As a response
to a call given by the All India Kissan Sabha, the
Orissa unit organized a meeting in Orissa on 25th
May, 1989 for occupation of lands. They raised
their voice against the Congress Governments for
its anti-peasant and labour laws.
This movement was organized effectively
in Balasore by Iswar Das and Himanshu Nandi,
in Baripada by Bhaskar Mohapatraa, Gangadhar
Marandi, Khagendra Nath Jena, in Lahunipada
by Rabi Nayak, Lambodar Nayak, Surendra
Muduli, Birasingh Munda and in Kalahandi by
K.C. Dwivedi.
On 6th and 7th April, 1990 Odisha
Krushak Sabha State Executive Committee
organized a meeting at Bhubaneswar. They
demanded compensation for the heavy rain and
cyclone affected people and supply of free seeds
for cultivation by the department of Agriculture.11
A huge rally was organized on 29th June
at Bhubaneswar by a Joint endeavour of both
Odisha Krushak Sabha and Odisha Kshet
Majdoor Union. Sunnet Chopra, Joint Secretary,
All India Agricultural Union workers participating
in the rally told in his address for job guarantee to
the labourers throughout the year, emphasized on
food for work and demanded for minimum wages
24
Odisha Review
of 25 rupees, which the present government must
fulfill. All welcomed the Government’s decision
to enhance the minimum wage to Rs. 25/-.
Jagannath Mishra, General Secretary,
Odisha Krushak Sabha criticized the Janata
Government as it failed to control the price hike
of daily commodities. Kshet Majdoor Union
President Bansidhar Das and General Secretary
Khitish Biswal informed about their support to
the Government on certain specific programmes
and they expected government should fulfill the
above demands as soon as possible.
Unions of small peasants and Agricultural
Labourers
It is an ironical feature of Odisha politics
that though peasants constitute a very large number
of the state population, they have mostly been
neglected by political parties. Only the CPI has
always paid some attention to the problems of
peasants.12 The worst offender in this respect has
been the Congress Party. For some years, the
PSP organsied some peasant organizations. During
1980’s in a few areas, especially of South Odisha,
the Naxalites and the CPI(M) were active in
organizing peasants to promote their interests.
However, on the whole, the political parties have
paid more attention and devoted more energy to
the industrial workers than to small land owners
and landless labourers. No wonder the small
peasants and agricultural workers of Odisha
whose lot is much worse than that of industrial
workers are politically more apathetic and passive
than the latter.13
References :
1. Patra, Somanath, (1990) “Odishare Krushi ‘O’
Krushakara Abastha” – Nua Duniya Bhagabati
Special.
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2. Mohanty, G.C., (1989) “Odisha Communist Party 9. Das, Santosh, (1996) – “Tini Dasandhira Chhatra
Itihasara Kiyadansa – 2nd Part – Nua Duniya Andolana, “Chhatra Aikya”, Silver Jubilee special,
Bhagabati Bisheshanka, V-8/9, P-58. P – 16.
3. Patra, Somanath, (1983) “Odishare Krushaka 10. Samyabadi, (16th August, 1987), P-5.
Andolanara Atita ‘O’ Vartamana” – Nua Duniya
11. Samyabadi, (26th June, 1988), P-7.
Bhagbati Bisheshanka.
12. Baral, J.K. and Mohapatra, J.K. “Political Culture
4. Mohanty, G.C., (1989) “Odisha Communist Party
of a Backward Indian State : Orissa in B.B. Jena
Itihasara Kiyadansa – 2nd Part – Nua Duniya
and J.K. Baral (Ed.).
Bhagbati Bisheshanka, V-8/9, P-59.
13. Baral, J.K. and Mohapatra, J.K., “Political Culture
5. Mohanty, G.C., (Oct, 1991) Opp. Cited, Bhagabati
of a Backward Indian State in B.B. Jena and J.K.
special, P-24.
Baral (Ed.) Op. Cit.
6. Samyabadi, (1st July, 1990), P-1.
7. Ganatantrik Mahila Samiti, 2nd State Conference
Draft Report, (1986).
Sujata Barik, Research Scholar, Department of History,
8. Das, Santosh, Secretariat Member CPI(M). Ravenshaw University, Cuttack.

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Ganga Temple Architecture:
A Study on Ananta Vasudev Temple
in Bhubaneswar
B hubaneswar, the capital of Odisha is
associated with a cluster of magnificent
temples. Its proud sculptural and architectural
heritage coupled with its sanctity as Ekamra
Kshetra, one of the 5 great religious centers in
Odisha since early medieval days attracts
thousands of visitors from all corners of the world
throughout the year. It is important Saiva kshetra
of India, its sacredness has been described in the
medieval texts like Ekamra Chandrika, Kapila
Samhita and Swarnadri-mahodaya. Bhubaneswar
is easy accessible, which is 438 K.M from south
west of Kolkata and on the main railway line to
Chennai. The airport was also situated in this town
through which international contact could be
possible tourist bungalow, hotels; dharmasalas
provide accommodation to the visitors. Here we
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Odisha Review
Anasuya Swain
find early 6-7th century temples to later 13-14th
century temple. The building activity was in full
swing under the Ganga. During this period one
important Bishnu temple named Ananta Basudev
temple was built.
Features of Ganga temple: The temples
of this period contain four features-
· Main temple
· Mukhasala
· Natamandap
· Bhoga mandapa
Main temple or the sanctuary is meant
for a glimpse of the deity and ritual worship.
Generally the sanctuary is the rekha deula. Rekha
deula has its four features-
· Pista
· Bada
· Gandi
· Mastaka
Pista
It is not found before the Ganga period.
It became prominent in the Ganga period.
Sometimes it became terraced platform.
Bada
Bada consists of Pabhaga, jungha and
baranda. But it is developed into 5 divisions in
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this period. Jungha is subdivided into two is called
as lower jungha and upper jungha. Among the
two junghas there is a set of moldings known as
bandhana. Pabhaga is divided into 5 where it in
incase of the early temple those are the khura,
kumbha, pata, kani and basanta. Gandi has its
seven divisions known as sapta ratha temple.
Those divisions are the rekha paga 1, Anurekha
paga 2, and anuratha paga 2, and Konia paga 2,
these pagas terminated at bisamas. The portion
which is in the top of the bisama is called as
mastaka. The cylindrical portion above the
bisamas is termed as beki or neck. Above the
beki, there is a huge piece of stone called as
Amalaka. The roof of the amalaka is covered by
slightly curved stone slab called khapuri.
Besides the vimana structures the other
structures are the mukhasala, Bhogamandapa and
natamandapa is called as pidha deula. Externally
the pidha deula possesses divisions similar to that
of rekha. That is the pista, bada, gandi and
mastaka. Pista is regular in this period. Bada is
exactly same as to the vimana. Some exceptions
are found in few temples. Gandi of the pidha deula
differs from the rekha deula. It consists of a
number of pidhas. The pidhas are arranged in
diminishing order as they go up by which of tillers
or pidhas. The pidhas diminish in such a proportion
that the size of the topmost pidha became exactly
the half of the size of the lower pidha. In case of
increase in the number, the pidhas are arranged
in groups called potalas. The potalas are
separated from one another by recessed kanthis.
The mastaka of full fledged pidha deul consists of
beki, ghanta again beki, amalaka and khapuri.
The important temple of the Ganga period
is the Sun temple at Konark, Jagannatha temple
at Puri and the Ananta Basudev temple in
Bhubaneswar.1
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Ananta Basudev temple
Time scale : According to a commemorative
inscription, originally attached to the temple, now
in the Royal Asiatic Society at London, it was
built in A.D 1278 by Chandrika, daughter of
Anangabhima- III, during the reign of her nephew
Bhanudev –I (A.D 1264 -1279) for Ananta
Vasudev.2
The temple is situated within a walled
compound along with numerous other structures
which consists of a deula, jagamohan,
natamandapa and bhogamandapa and the later
two being added devoid of sculptural decoration.
Both the bhogamandapa and natamandapa are
pidha structures and their pyramidical roofs along
with the roof of the jagamohan, present ascending
peaks culminating in the mastaka of the deul a
more effectively arrangement where the
natamandapa appears squeeze between the
jagamohan and bhogamanapa and has a relatively
flat roof, which suggests that these two front
structures were added at the same time. Affixed
to the western compound wall are two inscribed
slabs, one being a commemorative inscription
belonging to the Meghesvara temple and other a
prasasta of bhatra bhavadeva of Bengal bada
decoration.
Bada decoration:
The temple faces to west is built in a
ornamentally carved pitha. The walls of the pitha
are decorated with pabhaga of 3 mouldings. The
jungha has khakra mundis flanked by
nagastambas, alasakanyas or stambas relived with
scroll work on each side and virala motifs.
The bada is sapta ratha in plan. The bada
is divided by a madhya bandhana of three
mouldings. The facets of the rathas are richly
carved with fine scroll work and flower shaped
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motifs. The central facets of the corner ratha
having female figures and the khakra mundis on
the intermediary ratha of the lower jungha contain
the eight dikpalas, seated on their respective
mounts, while the corresponding spaces on their
respectively mounts upper jungha have their
female counter parts.
Gandi decoration :
The gandi decoration has a pancharatha
plan rather than saptaratha. The kanika is divided
into ten bhumis by bhumi–amalas within five
barandis. In the raha paga there is the anga
sikharas, where is also in the raha paga.
Jagamohana
The jagamohana, measuring 278 inches
square at the base has an expanded pancharatha
plan whereby the anuratha recesses are splayed
and filled with a triratha design with antermumdi
flanked by a stamba on each side while the kanika
and anuratha are projecting multi faceted pilasters,
there is a recess in the ratha design filled with virala
in the lower storey and alasa –kanya or mithuna
figure on the upper storey and in the area of
Kanika. There is inserted a stamba relived with
scroll work. The pabhaga is high consists of an
elongated khakra mundi flanked by a naga nagi
stamba on each side; the jungha is divided into
two storeys by a madhyabandhana of three
mouldings. The center position of kanika and
anuratha is decorated with a khakra mundi and
pidha mundi on the lower and upper storeys
respectively the mundis carved with alasakanya
or mithuna figure in high relief. The mundis of the
first or outside anuraha recesses house the dikpalas
and their Saktis where those of the inside recess
house various Vaishnava deities, such as
Gajalaxmi and varada including other cult images
like Saraswati. The baranda is same height as the
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Odisha Review
pabhaga consists of 7 mouldings of various
designs. The triratha design of the anuraha design
recess extends through these moldings and
consists of a large framed niche, housing various
figure motifs or deities, flanked in each side by a
narrow vajra mundis filled with standing female
figures these designs beginning above the third
and second moldings respectively. The window
is filled with 5 balusters, each likewise crowned
with a vajramastaka, carved with standing figures.
On the north Rama, Laxman and Sita are flanked
by a monkey on each side. According to T.E
Donaldson one of the monkey among the two is
probably Hanuman and another is Bibhisana.3 On
the south side the center three balusters, carved
with Krishna and gopis, are detached and now
inserted into a miniature shrine on the bank of the
Bindusarobara. Outside balusters decorated with
Gopis. The lintel above the balusters on each side
is decorated with a freeze of trotting elephants.
The lower storey is capped by a projecting pidha
moulding relatively with warriors, barses,
elephants which serves as the base for the upper
storey. These are two pilasters on either side
forming the upper niche. On both the north and
south sides the figures seated on the low couch,
with a large pillow behind her back and according
to Donaldson's view is a female and probably
represents the chandrika and attendants stand or
kneel behind her with hands folded in anjali, the
crowd represented in two rows. The figure in the
lower row is seated on the floor while those in
the back row are standing.4 Unfortunately both
screens are badly damaged and the facial features
mostly obliterated.
The pyramidal roof consists of two
potalas of pidha mouldings of diminishing size, the
lower tier having six moldings and upper tier
having five. Entrance portal there is vajra mastaka
panel crowning each potalas. Japha Singhs are
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inserted into the beki to help support the ghanta
of the mataka. In the beki beneath the annals
however there is simply vertical status for support.
Cult images:
Two of the parsadevatas are badly
damaged, on the south the image is of Varaha
while on the north it is Trivikrama, Varaha is
depicted in alidha pose with image of adisesu.
The arms are all broken off and the only weapon
visible is the chakra, carved behind the head of
varaha and originally holds in the upper right hand,
the image of the eastern niche hidden by a nissa
shrine is probably nrshima. The tribikrama image
is also badly mutilated either only the torso
proportions of the upper legs and the left arms
remaining and the left arms remaining intact, the
upper left hand holds a chakra or the lode left
hand has a conch. He is flanked in the lower
corners sarvasti standing on lotus cushion in front
of khakra mundi. Beneath the uplifted left leg of
Tribikrama is a diminutive scène of Vamana,
receiving the gift from Bali. In the sanctum there
is trinity of Baladeva, Subhadra and Krishna.
The dikpalas and their saktis are seated
in lalitasana on their respective mounts on the
customary names on both the deula and
jagamohana with Kubera being seated above a
row of jars andisana having four arms. Included
among the deities housed in mundi niches of the
splayed recesses are images of Vamana and
Varaha conforms to conventional iconography
where by he holds uplifted arm of pirthivi with his
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lower right hand. The garuda stamba, originally
placed in the open facing the jagamohana is now
enclosed by the nata mandira added at the later
images of Rama and Laxman on the baluster are
badly mutilated.
Conclusion
As the Vasudev temple is a late Ganga
temple lacks, more and more fined sculpture than
other Ganga temple like Konark and Puri, plays
an important role in the religious life of the
community due to the increased popularity of
Vasudev cult in later periods.5 It demands more
packaging marketing strategies to enhance the
contribution in the tourism field.
References:
1. Panigrahi, K.C, 'Archaeological remains at
Bhubaneswar', 1982
2. Acharya P. 'The commemorative inscription of
Ananta Vasudev temple at Bhubaneswar' OHRJ,
Vol-1, 1953, P.274-280
3. Donaldson, T. E , Hindu temple Art of Orissa, Vol -II,
1986, P-650
4. Ibid, P.651
5. Ibid, P.652
Anasuya Swain, Qrs. No.C-23, A.G Colony, Unit-4,
Bhubaneswar-751001, E-mail : swainanasuya
@yahoo.com.
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Professor Krishna Chandra Panigrahi and
Odishan Historiography
I have read the nationalistic narratives of
Professor Krishna Chandra Panigrahi has lasting
contribution to the growth of Odishan
historiography from the 40s to the 80s of the
20th century A.D. His methods, approaches and
interpretations along with his narratives deserve
notice by all the scholars and writers of Odishan
history in India and abroad. Panigrahi started his
research career in the tumultuous decades of the
formation of the separate province of Odisha
when there was a powerful articulation for Odia
identity and for distinctiveness of Odia culture.
The need of a history for the Odias was strongly
felt by the enthusiastic Odias who wanted the
projection of an imagined glorious race and there
was a paucity of reliable source materials for it. A
host of writers in Odisha through Odia newspapers
and magazines projected the past of Odisha which
despite its rich and colourful description was not
supported by scientific analysis. Panigrahi was of
course not free totally from the nationalistic temper
of the time, but he was free from bias and
unwarranted historical analysis. He saw the
spectacular past of Odisha in a new image which
was shared by the celebrated epigraphists and
the archaeologists of his time. In his approach and
style he definitely followed a scientific and
rationalist trend which began revising the colonial
and nationalistic historiography in Odisha. He must
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Odisha Review
Kailash Chandra Dash
Jagabandhu Singh and Kripasindhu Mishra along
with others which appeared in the powerful Odia
magazines like Mukura, Sahakara, Satyabadi,
Utkala Sahitya as well as in the weekly
newspapers in Odia-the Samaj, Asha, Sambalpur
Hiteishini and Nabeen. But he started to debate
his contemporary ideas and projected an
analytical study on Odisha history culling
information from archaeological store-house as
well as from the vast literary traditional accounts.
One may accept or refute Panigrahi's thesis on
Orissa's past; but none can deny an extra-ordinary
historical consciousness in his narratives which
were more or less free from inventive histories
and exaggerations. Therefore there is now a need
to read Panigrahi with a scentific spirit which can
help us in presenting a comprehensive history of
Odisha in the faster moving twenty-first century.
II
Before Panigrahi in colonial Odisha there
was discussion and debates on the past of Odisha
on the basis of traditional accounts and
archaeological evidence. The colonial historians
like Andrew Stirling, J.Princep, Brijkishore
Mishra, Bhabani Bandopadhyaya, W.W.Hunter,
John Beames, Rajendra Lal Mitra, Pyari Mohan
Acharya and Sitanath Ray presented a study of
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the history of Odisha mainly on the basis of their
interpretation of traditional accounts in literary and
historical texts like Madalapanji and sometimes
on a casual reading of extant archaeological
details. This trend was justified considering the
nature of interpretation of the past then
appreciated and followed. But with the march of
time in the beginning of the 20th centuryA.D. there
was a remarkable historical consciousness in
Odisha with the discovery of a large number of
copper plate and temple inscriptions, with the
exploration of many archaeological sites and
temples which convey new messages for the
reconstruction of a comprehesive past of Odisha.
By this time in Odisha large number of Odia
periodicals and magazines were published and in
Bengal the famous Journal of the Asiatic Society
and the Indian Antiquary were published which
contained the new message for the history and
historians of Odisha. Also Epigraphica Indica
containing a decipherment and interpretation of
the epigraphic records of Odisha helped a lot to
unravel the darker aspects of the past of Odisha.
The outcome was the brilliant rise of a host of
historians like Man Mohan Chakravartti,
M.M.Ganguli, N.N.Vasu, R.D.Banerji,
R.P.Chand and many others. They were more or
less appreciated by the Odia historians then. The
first three decades of the 20th century A.D. in
Odisha witnessed a brilliant group of writers who
utilised both traditional accounts and
archaeological source-wealth for the
reconstruction of the history of Odisha. They were
Pandit Arttatrana Mishra, Mrutyunjaya Rath,
Jagabandhu Singh, Kripasindhu Mishra,
Brajabandhu Das, Brajabandhu Pattnaik,
Mahendra Patnaik, Tarini Charan Rath,
Kedarnath Mahapatra, Satyanarayana Rajaguru,
Rudranarayana Sarangi, Paramananda Acharya,
Birupakshya Kar, Chandra Mohan Maharana,
Gopabandhu Vidyabhushan, Phakir Sahani,
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Lakshminarayana Jagadeba of Tikkali, Vinayak
Mishra, Bhagaban Pati, Chintamani Acharya,
Jogesh Chandra Ray, Sadasiva Mishra,
Ghanashyam Das and others. They were
motivated to write the history of Odisha with the
discovery of archaeological sources and they
were guided by the natonalist forums like Utkala
Sahitya Samaj at Cuttack as well as the Utkala
Sammilani. Under the patronage of Odisha
Research Anusandhan Samity of 1917 which was
the brain child of the Utkala Sahitya Samaj many
of these writers became active to see the past of
Odisha. The publication of English Journals like
the Journal of Bihar Orissa Research Society,
Prachi and in Odia magazines like Sahakara,
Mukura, Utkala Sahitya and others fostered their
ideas. Some of them were nationalist writers eager
to articulate the identity of the Odia race by
presenting a connected account of the past which
was also in many respects imagined. There were
also others who wanted to view Odisha history
in the light of scientific thought and recent
archaeological evidence. But they were limited in
number. With this background one has to see the
workshop of Panigrahi. Panigrahi came to the
focus in the 1930s when some of his Odia articles
were published in Nava Bharata which was edited
by Nilakantha Das. They were on Kavisurya
Granthavali, overseas trade and colonization of
ancient Kalinga, the position of women in Rig
Veda and Brahmana and Kshatriya.. (See Nava
Bharata, Sala-1343, 1346). But he was definitely
watching carefully the development in Odisha and
abroad on history and culture of Odisha and was
trying to map it. But with his brilliant training in
Calcutta University under the inspiration of the
great historians there and with his association with
Rama Prasad Chand he began to look at Odisha
history with a scientific temper. His scientific
temper was fostered first at Ahichhatra, the capital
of South Panchala in the years from 1944 to 1946
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when he was associated with the archaeological
excavation of this zone. During this phase he was
trained to be an archaeologist and found
archeological sources as a very valuable tool for
scientific historical thought. Working as an
archaeologist in different zones in North India he
got a scientific mind for writing a comprehensive
history of India. The report of K.N. Dikshit,
Director-General of Archaeology in India in 1943
established the fact that for six years from 1937
to 1943 Panigrahi had a brilliant formative career
necessary for a scientific historian. His original
researches on the subject of the evolution of
Indian pottery from the earliest time to the present
day in which he had acquired for himself an
unrivalled knowledge led him to the path of
scientific historical analysis. He had worked in
various capacities as a lecturer in History, as a
curator and as an archaeologist which enabled
him to have a fresh look at Odisha History.
His first work started with debate and
controversy. The book was Political Status of the
Feudatory States of Orissa and Chhattisgarh
which was a documentary study of the status of
the Princely states of Orissa and the book was
published under the patronage of K.C. Niyogi,
the ex-Dewan of Mayurbhanj state. The
underlying motive in the publication of this text
was to encourage the states for the formation of
an Eastern States Union consisting of the Princely
States of Odisha. But with the merger of the
princely states the book was well known and
Panigrahi was bitterly criticised. The work
however was a very important source book on
the Princely states of Odisha before merger for
the historians and it contained Panigrahi's skill of
codifying and documenting historical facts.
From the 1940s Panigrahi saw a lack of
proper historical consciousness in Orissa which
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Odisha Review
can be well known from his articles in Odia in
Samaj. On 25th October and 15th November
1952 he had two articles in Samaj on the history
of Odisha and historical sources in which he
strongly presented the lack of proper method in
the study of Odishan history despite the availability
of many historical records about it. He had
criticized the historians of Odisha for using
unreliable fake documents and for the lack of real
research in it. There was great reaction on his
focus; but Panigrahi had well marked the trends
in Odishan history for the last four decades and
he was convinced about the unscientific and bitter
nationalistic outlook of the Odias then while
projecting the past of Odisha. For thirty years
from 1040s Panigrahi cogently argued against the
spread of fake documents in Odisha about the
glorious past of the Odias. Before 1950s he did
not speak on the circulation of fake ideas for the
compilation of Odisha history. It was probably
due to his pre-occupation in archaeological works
and his preparatory training to face the imagined
historians of Odisha. In fact the trends of Odishan
historiography as presented by the famous Odia
historians in the phase from 1910-40 was guided
by nationalistic temper for the construction and
articulation of Odia identity-the claim of
Jayadeva's birth place and that of Buddha and
Kalidas were two important examples. The
historians in Odisha then projected the past of
Odisha without verifying the documents necessary
for them and with poor decipherment of
epigraphic records and careless theorizing.
Sometimes history was imagined and constructed
on the basis of fake documents. The glorification
of the Odias of the past on the basis of fake and
useless documents was a prominent trend of this
phase. Panigrahi strongly protested against this
trend from 1950s and demanded a scientific
approach and method for the comprehensive
history of Odisha. In the two interesting narratives
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in Odia Panigrahi wanted scientific and
comprehensive study of Odisha history and he
had condemned the trend of using fake and
artificial documents for the history of Odisha. He
had appreciated the trend of historiography in
R.D.Banerji's History of Orissa, although he was
also conscious about some shortcomings in it.
Then Panigrahi strongly stated that the use of fake
documents like Bhandara Panji and inscriptions
on Raktabahu deter in the reconstruction of the
past of Odisha on scientific basis. He could not
appreciate the protesting note of Chakradhara
Mahapatra on his article because Mahapatra had
an emotional outburst having no logic in his
thought and language. Panigrahi started his tirade
against the profuse use of fake inscriptions and
copper plates like palm leaf manuscripts in Odisha
from this period for about thirty years. According
to Panigrahi in the reconstruction of history the
attachment to easy ways, dishonest and untruthful
methods are always harmful to the moral backone
of any nation. During the thirty years from 1950
to 1980 Panigrahi had strongly denounced the
use of fake documents like the Panji on Indrabala-
Indradyumna, inscriptions on the homeland of
Jayadeva and Gautam Buddha, the letter of Jhansi
Rani Lakshmi Bai to Chakhi Khuntia and Baya
Chakada on the making of Konarka temple. He
had put the blame for this artificial trend of
historiography in Odisha on the newspapers who
published all interesting archaeological and
historical discoveries without verifying their nature
and on the historians of Odisha who could not
appreciate any scientific standard in their study
of history which was then followed in other parts
of India and abroad. An extra-ordinary desire for
glorifying our own race without proper method
was according to Panigrahi the great hallmark of
Odisha history in the phases from 1950 to 1980.
The self-styled approach in Odisha on the
narratives of the past, speculative attitude on all
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gaps in history without proper reason and logical
interpretation, careless theorizing and biased
interpretation with unbridled imagination could not
support scientific and sober history at any time-it
was Panigrahi's remark.
III
The greatest contribution of Panigrahi to
Odisha history in the 1950s was his magnum
opus-Archaeological Remains of Bhubaneswar.
It was the brilliant outcome of his decade long
archaeological training and research in Odisha and
abroad and was a D.Phil thesis of Calcutta
University in the 1950s. One can mark in this
thesis Panigrahi's extra-ordinary command over
language which was clear and cogent, his
comprehensive ability and his scientific method.
It was the lasting contribution of Panigrahi to the
political and cultural history of Odisha. The
manuscript of the book was completed in the year
1952 and nine years after it was published by
Orient Longman in the year 1961. The aim of this
work was to assign the numerous monuments of
Bhubaneswar to the broad political epochs, but
not to fix their dates, which in many cases was
precluded by the nature of the data available at
that time. The manuscript in final stage was
thoroughly revised by S.K.Saraswati, a silent
devotee in the temple of learning and a profound
scholar of ancient Indian History and Archaeology
whose valuable paper on Odishan Temples as a
formal paradigm for temple study was published
in the Orissa Historical Research Journal(Vol.I).
Panigrahi with his vast archaeological knowledge
for two decades and his thorough study of the
temples of Bhubaneswar presented a cogent and
connected study of Odishan temple art and
architecture in a precise manner. He had taken
into account all the traditional accounts on the
temples of Bhubaneswar like The Ekamra
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Purana, Svarnadri Mahodaya, Kapila
Samhita and Sarala Mahabharata and could
follow them with proper interpretations. He was
profitably benefited by the works like Orissa and
Her Remains by M.M.Ganguli, History of
Orissa by R.D.Banerji, Canons of Odishan
Architecture and many other texts on Odishan
antiquities and archaeology then available to him.
He started with the earliest monuments of
Bhubaneswar in the Tosali-Dhauli-Sisupalagarh-
Khandagiri zones and ended his project with the
study of the temples of Bhubaneswar in the 14th-
15th century A.D. In course of his study of the
evolution of art and architecture of the temples of
Bhubaneswar Panigrahi has presented an account
of the political and the cultural history of Odisha
in the early and medieval phase on the basis of a
careful interpretation of epigraphic records as well
as the traditional accounts. His interpretation of
traditional accounts on Bhubaneswar was based
on his appreciation of the significance of legends
and traditions containing the past of Odisha, but
he was not careful then on the formation of all
traditional accounts—a trend which appeared with
the study of German scholars and historians in
Odisha like A. Eschmann, Hermann Kulke,
H.von. Stietencron in collaboration with Professor
Gaganendranath Dash and Gaya Charan Tripathy
in the 1970s and 1980s. The functional paradigm
of traditional accounts was absent with Panigrahi,
although he was the greatest scientific historian to
recognise the historical value in them. In his study
of Bhubaneswar temples he had given
considerable attention to the interpretation of
Yayati tradition, Kruttivasa legend, Raktavahu
tradition in Madalapanji and other traditional
accounts which provide valuable insight to our
comprehensive study of Odishan history in early
and medieval phases.
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Odisha Review
In the 1950s and 1960s Panigrahi
wanted to place the Odia Mahabharata of Sarala
Das of 15-16th century A.D. in the analysis of
Odishan past. As a matter of fact his study of
Sarala Das and his Mahabharata provides an
addition to our ideas on Odishan historiography.
His papers in the forms of debate on the time and
theme of Sarala Mahabharata first appeared in
the well known Odia Monthly magazine like
Jhankara in the 1950s and 1960s and then they
were presented in the form of books in Odia and
English. The text Sarala Mahabharatara
Aitihasika Chitra published by Prajatantra
Prachara Samity under the patronage of
Harekrishna Mahatab in 1976 was major
landmark of Panigrahi in his study of Odisha
History. The Sarala Mahabharata was written
in the 15th century during the reign of Suryavamsi
king Kapilendra Deva(A.D.1435-1467).
K.C.Panigrahi in his book and papers on Sarala
Das presented that some contemporaneous
historical events and/or pictures of
contemporaneous socio-cultural, politico-
economic conditions, directly or indirectly, had
crept in and found places in it. Panigrahi also
suggested that Sarala Das was no doubt inspired
by the stirring events happening in the reign of his
contemporary Kapilesvara and thus his
Mahabharata can be a great source for the study
of Odisha History of medieval phase. In fact there
is a fine combination of Cyclic Time and Linear
Time in the Mahabharata of Sarala Das and he
was aware of Linear Time for which he had used
a part of the socio-economic and political aspects
of the past of Odisha in his study in the form of
traditional acounts. But in this context a great
literary and historical critic G.N.Dash has not
accepted his viewpoint. (Eshana-17, 1988; also
Nirvachita Prabandha Sankalana, 2005,
Vidyapuri, Cuttack, p.1-31.) According to Dash,
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it is highly improbable and unlikely that Sarala Das
knowingly and deliberately incorporated the past
and contemporaneous historical events and/or
descriptions/pictures of earlier socio-cultural and
politico-economic conditions in it in the garb of
episodes of the Mahabharata. He further stated
that K.C.Panigrahi has attempted to claim and
establish that which betrays his nationalistic
sentiments and tendency to write nationalistic
history. In this context we like to state that
Panigrahi has used the traditional narratives of
Sarala Mahabharata in an artificial manner
without considering the nature of the texts, the
nature of additions and revisions in the subsequent
period. Considering the extant texts of Sarala
Mahabharata its free use in the study of early
and medieval phase can now be challenged. But
Panigrahi out of his regard for an old Odia literature
could use it for his narrative of the History of
Odisha. Although his evaluation of Sarala
Mahabharata is very interesting, it is not very
useful in the scientific reconstruction of the
medieval past of Odisha.
Another interesting aspect of the
historiography of K.C.Panigrahi is his use of
traditional accounts in the literary texts for
unravelling the past of Odisha. It was in fact a
colonial endeavour and the nationalist writers in
the 1920s and 1930s wanted to write history on
the basis of traditional accounts. Panigrahi
followed them but there is considerable difference
in the treatment of the traditional accounts of the
earlier phase and that of K.C.Panigrahi. Besides
Puranic literature in Sanskrit and Odia,
Madalapanji and other traditional accounts in
Odisha were thoroughly studied to find out a
connected and systematic account of the past of
Odisha by Panigrahi. Besides Sarala
Mahabharata, Panigrahi found in the 1950s and
1960s Madalapanji as a store-house of traditional
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accounts on Odisha. He wanted to utilise the
different versions of Madalapanji for a
comprehensive study of early and medieval
Odisha and his endeavour in this respect was a
progress from the earlier colonial writers who had
only used the text without considering the context.
For the first time we find a contextual study of
Madalapanji by Panigrahi in a scientific manner.
He discussed its time of composition and further
compilation, additions and omissions and could
find a real image of the early and medieval Odisha
by the interpretation of the different episodes in
it. In this respect his study of Yayati tradition and
the story of Raktabahu need special consideration
although there are also different sides of them.
Panigrahi wanted to be free from bias and
emotion while studying the various episodes in
Madalapanji but he could not be totally free from
it because he was not familiar with the study of
traditional accounts particularly their formation and
stages of growth for different missions in the
society—a trend which appeared with the
German historians in collaboration with G.N.Dash
and G.C.Tripathy in Odisha in the 1970s. Despite
that Panigrahi had earlier set the trend for these
historians to give necessary emphasis on the
traditional accounts like Madalapanji like all
archaeological sources for the comprehensive
study of Odisha history. His projections were
further made free from nationalistic sentiments
and tendencies with the study of Jagannatha temple
and regional traditions by Hermann Kulke and
his colleagues in Odisha. To-day on the basis of
the foundational study of Madalapanji and the so-
called Yayati tradition by K.C.Panigrahi numerous
experiments have been conducted by the modern
historians. In this respect his famous book in Odia-
Itihasa O Kimbadanti (History and the
traditional Accounts) published by the Utkal
University, Bhubaneswar in 1962 deserves
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scholarly notice. The forward of this book was
written in 1954 when the author was a noted
archaeologist at Patna and when he was at the
height of his archaeological career. One can
evaluate his historical potency from his forward
which claims that a traditional account may not
be history, but it contains historical facts. At the
same time he also stated there that the fact
contained in the traditional accounts needs to be
verified by different historical processes and
utilised for historical studies. He had accepted the
traditional accounts as an unavoidable source,
because the fact gleaned from the epigraphic and
numismatic records are not sufficient for a
complete and connected history. Hence he
wanted to accept the traditional accounts as a
supplementary source for the studies in history.
In the text-Itihasa O Kimbadanti he had given
considerable focus on the study of Madalapanji
and the different episodes associated with it.
Panigrahi made a scientific study of Madalapanji
without pondering how it can be connected with
an all-India aspect. It means in his interpretation
of Madalapanji its connection with the political
and cultural developments of the other regions of
India of 16th and 17th century A.D. was
prominently missing which we now-a-days find
in the works of Hermann Kulke, Narayana Rao,
Y.Salkia and others.
The most important endeavour of
K.C.Panigrahi in his prolonged career of an
archaeologist and historian for about forty years
was his attempt to present a comprehensive
history of Odisha at least upto the end of the
period of Mukunda Deb which he called Hindu
period. In fact his History of Orissa (Hindu
period) which was published in 1981 by a noted
Odia Publishing firm called Kitab Mahal (Cuttack)
was the result of his endeavour in this line.
Panigrahi articulated this great need of Odisha as
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Odisha Review
early as 1950 in his articles and although the
famous and gigantic Utkal University History of
Orissa was published in volumes in the 1960s they
could not cater to the need of the scholars for
methodological reasons. In fact, Panigrahi was
very critical of the first volume of the Utkal
University History of Orissa written by late
Professor Nabin Kumar Sahu who stretched the
period of study upto the end of the Mathara phase.
It was printed in bold letters and was big in size
and Panigrahi could not appreciate the unwanted
description and unbridled speculation in it.
Panigrahi made it clear that in the preparation of
this early Orissa Nabin Kumar Sahu did not follow
any pattern of the history books published in India
and abroad and that the learned author used any
information in his storehouse without proper
verification for his history and thus the work
remained a fragmented and mutilated volume.
Panigrahi also argued that large volumes on Orissa
History can be published like that of Utkal
University History, but they cannot be readable
for their size, price and expression. Panigrahi
wanted the publication of a readable volume on
Orissa History like the History of Bengal published
by the Dacca University under the guidance of
eminent historians like Ramesh Chandra
Majumdar and others. He wanted the scientific
application of archaeological information and
literary texts without careless theorising. He
wanted to examine all evidence before they are
ready for use. He had boldly opposed the use of
fake documents in the nature of palm-leaf texts
and inscriptions. To Panigrahi History must be
based on true fact and not on unbridled speculation
and nationalistic passion. It is distressing to note
that Panigrahi could not find proper associates
for this venture and so his work History of Orissa
which was designed to cater to the growing need
of the students and teachers of Odisha and abroad
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Odisha Review
also failed in its mission. The book after
publication was strongly criticised by Chittaranjan
Das, an eminent Odia writer in a research journal
called Eshana in 1981. (Eshana, The Journal of
the Institute of Odia Studies,Vol.III,1981, p.83-
86). In the review of the book of Panigrahi, Das
has strongly reacted to the growing nationalist and
narrow horizon in Odishan historiography even
after the end of its need. He was critical of the
narrative pattern of the write-up of Panigrahi who
also followed a trend of the colonial and nationalist
phase. As Das has remarked History must be a
theme on the sociology of the past. Historians
should consider the past holistically and from the
entire aspect of social life. He states that Panigrahi
also followed the same traditional approach in his
History of Orissa. This criticism is not absurd
because the text of Panigrahi on Orissa History
though may be considered as an addition to our
study of early and medieval Odisha, does not
possess the standard followed in the compilation
of the History of Bengal published at least four
decades before it. The narrative pattern of
Panigrahi is no doubt very interesting from the
point of view of presentation and style, but it
cannot be a critical evaluation of the early and
medieval past of Odisha from the standpoint of
the analysis of the source materials. The author
has not balanced his thought which sometimes
follows emotional track. The learned author in his
expression has become a literary writer with
sufficient sentimental attachment to his old views.
Some chapters are unusually large and some
important chapters are unusually small. The
author's note on the political and social set-up of
early and medieval Odisha was too traditional and
needs a revisit. There is no proper map or
illustration, though it contains some known
photographs of the temples. The work is of course
more than a documentary history; as it contains
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new insights on the theme of religious beliefs. But
from the point of view of society and economy
the work has not sufficient details and is in no
way different from the colonial and other nationalist
narratives.
Despite all his shortcomings in his
treatment of a comprehensive history of Orissa,
Panigrahi had an analytical mind which helped him
in the study of the past of early and medieval
Odisha. He was definitely an ardent admirer of
Odishan culture and heritage; but he was not in
favour of articulating blindly the glory of Odia
race—like claiming Odisha as the homeland of
Jayadeva and Gautam Buddha on the basis of
unreliable and even fake documents. Even at the
end of his career in the 1970s Panigrahi strongly
denounced the unscientific method of the study
of the past of early and medieval Odisha by the
use of fake documents and he went to the extent
of blaming all newspapers in Odisha who could
publish such events of the history of Odisha
without proper verification and scientific scrutiny.
One can discover his scientific historian's mind in
his autobiography-Mo Samayara Odisha (Odisha
of My Time) which unravels all his reactions and
feelings of his active career in Odisha and India.
Panigrahi was throughout his life a seeker of Truth
and a benevolent admirer of archaeological
wealth. His independent assessment of the past
despite their weak side is a great lesson for the
historians of Odisha.
Kailash Chandra Dash, Former Reader in History,
C-3/2, B.J.B.Nagar, Bhubaneswar-14, Email-
dash.kailashchandra@rediffmail.com.
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Definitions of Astanga Yoga of
Maharshi Patanjali
Introduction
Maharshi Patanjali has codified his
knowledge of yoga, its practices and benefits by
encapsulating them in the form aphorisms. They
are called as yoga-sutras. He has given the clear
definitions of yoga and its eight branches very
precisely and scientifically in his treatise Patanjali
Yogasutra in four different padas or sections such
as Samadhi pada, Sadhana pada, Vibhuti
pada and Kaivalya pada.
Definitions of Yoga
Yogah cittavrtti nirodhah.
Yoga is the arrest of activities of chitta. (Patanjali
Yogasutra I/2)
Definitions of eight branches of Yoga
Yama niyama asana pranayama pratyahara
dharana dhyana samadhayah astau angani.
Self-discipline (yama), observances
(niyama), posture (asana), breath control
(pranayama), withdrawal of the mind from sense
objects (pratyahara), concentration (dharana),
meditation (dhyana) and absorption in the self
(samadhi) are the eight limbs of yoga. (Patanjali
Yogasutra II/29)
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Odisha Review
Dr. Saroj Kumar Sahu
1) Yama
Ahimsa satya asteya brahmacarya
aparigrahah yamah.
Non-injury or non-violence (ahimsa),
veracity or truthfulness (satya), non-stealing
(asteya), abstinence (brahmacarya) and non-
acceptance or covetousness (aparigraha) are the
five yamas or restraints. (Patanjali Yogasutra II/
30)
2) Niyama
Sauca santosa tapah svadhyaya
isvarapranidhanani niyamah.
Cleanliness (sauca), contentment
(santosa), austerity or penance (tapas), study
and recitation of sacred scriptures (svadhyaya),
and devotion (pranidhana) to the Supreme Lord
(Isvara) are the five niyamas or observances.
(Patanjali Yogasutra II/32)
3) Asana
Sthira sukham asanam.
Posture (asana) should be firm and
comfortable. (Patanjali Yogasutra II/46)
4) Pranayama
Tasmin satisvasa prasvasayoh
gativicchedah pranayamah.
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Odisha Review
Once that (asana or posture) has been
perfected, pranayama is practiced. Pranayama
is the suspension of the flow of inhalation (svasa)
and exhalation (prasvasa). (Patanjali Yogasutra
II/49)
5) Pratyahara
Svavisaya asamprayoge cittasya
svarupanukarah iva indriyanam
pratyaharah.
Pratyahara or the withdrawal of five
jnanendriyas (senses of perception), and five
karmendriyas (senses of action), as it were,
following the essential nature of mind (citta) (by
those very indriyas), when separated from
their corresponding objects (visaya). (Patanjali
Yogasutra II/54)
6) Dharana
Desa bandhah cittasya dharana.
Concentration (dharana) is the
mind’s fixation on one particular point. (Patanjali
Yogasutra III/1)
7) Dhyana
Tatra pratyaya ekatanata dhyanam.
In dharana, the continuous flow of similar
mental modifications is meditation (dhyana).
(Patanjali Yogasutra III/2)
8) Samadhi
Tadeva arthamatranirbhasam
svarupasunyam iva samadhih.
When the yogi becomes oblivious of his
own entity and only the object of meditation
remains, it is called perfect concentration
(samadhi). It is just that condition in which only
the object of concentration (artha) shines forth
and the self is absent as it were. (Patanjali
Yogasutra III/3)
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Conclusion
Along with the definitions of eight
branches of yoga, Maharshi Patanjali has also
given the simple definitions of vairagya, Isvara,
pranava, sabija samadhi (samprajnata
samadhi), nirbija samadhi (asamprajnata
samadhi), dharmamegha samadhi, kriyayoga,
samyama and kaivalya.
Vairagya
Drsta anusravika visaya vitrsnasya
vasikarasamjna vairagyam.
He who has withdrawn his mind from all
the enjoyments of this world and the other world
(heaven) is called vasikara vairagya. (Patanjali
Yogasutra I/15)
Isvara
Klesa karma vipaka asayaih aparamrstah
purusavisesah Isvarah.
Isvara is a special purusa
(consciousness) untouched by klesha (afflictions),
karma (action), vipaka (result of action) and
asaya (deposits of the result of action). He is
different from other purusas. (Patanjali Yogasutra
I/24)
Pranava
Tasya vacakah pranavah.
AUM is the expression word of Isvara.
(Patanjali Yogasutra I/27)
Sabija Samadhi (Samprajnata Samadhi)
Ta eva sabijah samadhih.
The state in which there is one object of
meditation as seed (bija) is called savija samadhi
or samprajnata samadhi. There is only one
vritti of chitta as object of meditation in this state.
(Patanjali Yogasutra I/46)
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Nirbija Samadhi (Asamprajnata Samadhi)
Tasyapi nirodhe sarvanirodhat nirbijah
samadhih.
When the single vritti of chitta present
in sabija samadhi is removed it is called nirbija
samadhi or asamprajnata samadhi. (Patanjali
Yogasutra I/51)
Dharmamegha Samadhi
Prasamkhyane api akusidasya sarvatha
vivekakhyateh dharmameghah samadhih.
When the yogi is not interested even in
the viveka khyati (intellectual knowledge) he then
enters into dharmamegha Samadhi. Here there
is heavy rain of dharma (righteousness). This is
the state just before the kaivalya. Here the yogi
becomes full of goodness. (Patanjali Yogasutra
IV/29)
Kriyayoga
Tapah svadhyaya isvarapranidhanani
kriyayogah.
Austerity or penance (tapas), study of
scriptures and chanting of mantras (svadhyaya)
and devotion to the Supreme Lord (Isvara) are
kriyayoga. (Patanjali Yogasutra II/1)
Samyama
Trayam ekatra samyamah.
The triad i.e. dharana, dhyana and
samadhi together on the same single object is
samyama. (Patanjali Yogasutra III/3)
Kaivalya
Sattva purusayoh suddhi samye kaivalyam iti.
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Odisha Review
When the buddhi and the purusa are
equally purified the yogi attains kaivalya
(isolation). (Patanjali Yogasutra III/56)
Purusartha sunyanam gunanam
pratiprasavah kaivalyam svarupapratistha
va citisaktaih iti.
Merger of all the modifications into their
respective causes is called kaivalya. It is the state
when the purusa (consciousness) is established
in its real form. (Patanjali Yogasutra IV/34)
Bibliography :
1. Saraswati, Swami Satyananda. Four chapters
on Freedom, Yoga Publication Trust, Munger,
Bihar, 2006.
2. Baba, Bangali. Yogasutra Patanjali With the
Commentary of Vyasa, Motilal Banarsidass
Publishers Private Limited, 41 U. A. Bangalow
Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi 1100007, 2005.
3. Nambiar, Sita. K. Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, The
Divine life Society, Shivanandnagar, Tehri-
Garhwal, n.d.
4. Venkatesananda, Swami. Enlighted Living, A
new interpretative translation of the
Yogasutra of Maharshi Patanjali, The Chiltern
Yoga Trust, P.O. Elgin Cape Province, South
Africa, 1975.
5. Vivekananda, Swami. Raja Yoga, Advaita
Ashrama, Kolkata, n.d.
Dr. Saroj Kumar Sahu, Guest Faculty, Shivananda Yoga,
Vedanta Academy, Goutam Nagar, Bhubaneswar -14.
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Last Year of Gopabandhu’s Life

Madhusudan Patnaik

I t was the third week of July 1927 when the

unprecedented flood disaster came to Orissa.
The destructiveness and suddenness of this flood
was unparalleled by any flood of the past. Train
communication from Calcutta to Puri was
disrupted. Roads and railway tracks remained
submerged. Gopabandhu received this
information by wire. He came back and tirelessly
worked day in and day out for the flood stricken
people. His deep love for village upliftment led
him to work unceasingly. He set up schools in the
heart of the countryside to reform village, remove
darkness of ignorance, eradicate the crippling evil
customs and remove poverty through the spread
of cottage industries.
He firmly believed in the ideal of plain
living and high thinking and wanted to start a new
school on the line of old Gurukul. In the sylvan
setting of the Bakul grove behind the famous Godabarish Misra, Acharya Harihar Das, Pandit
Sakhigopal temple, a middle English School was Krupasindhu Misra, Pandit Basudev Mahapatra,
started with only 19 students on 17 August 1909. Shri Ramachandra Rath, Shri Venugopal Achari,
This was the nucleus of the famous Satyabadi Shri Satyabadi Tripathy, Pandit Bhubaneswar
School which played a significant role in the cause Misra and Pandit Lingaraj Misra. This unique
of nationalism and freedom of the country. The School was visited by Chancellors and Vice-
school was converted into a High School on 11 Chancellors of several universities, eminent
October 1911. The bond of young selfless scholars both of India and from abroad including
distinguished intellectuals also offered to serve as Mahatma Gandhi on 13th April 1921, Shri
teachers, besides Pandit Nilakantha Das, Pandit Asutosh Mukherji in 1917, Shri Devi Prasad

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Sarbadhikari, Dr. Lancaster of Great Britain and
Sir Edward Gait, the then Leutenant - Governor
of Bihar and Orissa.
Gopabandhu was very simple in his food
and clothing. He worked to root out untouchability,
casteism and all forms of orthodoxy from among
the villagers being inspired by the ideal of austerity.
Once he asked Acharya Harihar to purchase a
pair of dhotis for him. Harihar purchased a pair
of superior hand woven cloth at a cost of a rupee
and a quarter. Gopabandhu burst into tears and
said Harihar, you have wasted so much money
on a pair of cloth.
He stayed at Calcutta in a small house to
observe the life of his poor compatriots. There
was hardly any light and ventilation. Being very
poor 12 to 14 members lived in each room of 10
1/2’ x 10 1/2’ size. On the floor multitudes of
bugs and lice moved about, making it impossible
for one to sleep. Gopabandhu chose to remain in
one such room along with the poor Odia labourers.
The unhealthy condition affected his already worn
out body. He came to Satyabadi on 11 June 1929.
He was down with fever. A number of workers
gathered there to see him. Gopabandhu burst into
tears to see them. His illness took a bad turn on
16 June. The civil surgeon of Puri was called on.
He examined and disclosed that his heart had
become very weak. Wires were sent to his elder
son-in-law Ratnakar Pati and Radhanath Rath to
come from Cuttack. At that time Pandit
Nilakantha, Acharya Harihar, Pandit Lingaraj and
Ram Chandra Rath were by his side. At the mid-
night on 16 June his heart began to palpitate badly.
In the morning the Civil Surgeon was again called
in. He declared, ‘No hope’. The last moment has
arrived. He prescribed injection and left with
warning - 7 PM, 11 PM and 4 PM are the critical
hour. Though he was fast approaching his end,
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Odisha Review
Gopabandhu’s mind was quite clear and the face
was bright as usual. He spoke clearly and firmly.
At 1 PM Pandit Lingaraj asked him if he intended
to say something. He asked Pandit Lingaraj to
take down his will. He made over the ‘Samaj’
and ‘The Satyabadi Press’ to the Servants of the
People Society. On seeing Ratnakar Pati and
Radhanath Rath, he said, ‘I am just dictating my
last will before death. You will all do everything
after due consideration. Now my last moment has
come. It was 5.30 PM. He began to breathe
heavily. A little fruit juice was given. He asked his
loving friends and co-workers to sit round him
and offer prayers. Immediately prayers were
started. On his bed he began to pray with his palms
held together. After offering prayer for a short time
he said, ‘I am feeling pain all over my body. My
breath is moving upwards. My waist is aching’.
Acharya Harihar began to massage his waist
lightly. As he lay in this condition, his pulse failed
just before 6 O’clock. At last he placed his hand
on his chest. He exclaimed, ‘I wish this upward
movement of the breath would stop’. Within a
couple of minutes it stopped. He expired at 7.25
PM. It was 17 June 1928, the day before the
Car Festival at Puri known as Netrotsav Day,
the occasion of Navajaubana Darshan, for seeing
the holy Trinity Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra
in fresh youth. The light went out, the like of which
Odisha may not see for all years to come.
His body decked with garlands and
flowers and festoons and draped in the National
flag was carried in a huge procession to his dear
Bakul Grove behind the Sakhigopal temple and
was consigned to fire.
Madhusudan Patnaik, Kaibalya, Duttatota, Puri.
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Digital Platform to Defeat COVID-19
N ovel Corona Virus disease (COVID-19)
was originated from Wuhan, China, on 31st,
December 2019. Novel Corona Virus disease
(COVID-19) has become a pandemic as the
disease continues to spread across the globe.
People are striving to protect themselves, their
families, their loved ones and all human being
against this pandemic. There’s no particular
vaccine to combat it and doctors can only treat
the symptoms of this disease. Different treatment
options have been adapted on hit and trial method
and some existing drugs seem to be associated
with positive results – but it is not the exact
medicine for COVID-19, much more research is
needed.
Whether it’s in Social Distancing,
diagnostics or proper treatment management, the
innovators of most of the countries have turned
towards inventing and adapting new technologies
to confront these outbreaks. “Technology plays
a great role for helping us get through this global
health crisis, Patient tracking and predicting its
spread, protecting medical staffs, localisation
concept is used to provide accurate geolocation
of the individuals, education for the homebound,
etc.” Different devices and advanced technologies
have been developed and implemented to win the
war against COVID-19. In this pandemic,
advanced technology tools are the monitoring and
controlling weapons of corona virus outbreaks,
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Dr. Manas Ranjan Senapati
Soubhagya Ranjan Mallick
as humans cannot operate at a speed of AI
powered machines. Here an attempt has been
made to discuss about some of the possible
technological concepts and their role to fight
against COVID-19, which could possibly help
to control the outbreak.
QUANTUM COMPUTERS
To win the war against COVID-19
outbreak, quantum computing plays a vital role
for providing services to better pandemic control.
Supercomputers are used for quickly and carefully
mapping the molecular structure of corona virus
so that it will be easy for developing medicines
and treatments. IBM supercomputer is being
deployed by the researchers to find out the
chemical compounds to fight against corona virus.
This super computer generate results within 1-2
days rather than months which could have taken
by standard computing system to produce the
same result. Till date, the quantum computer has
supported researchers to identify 77 molecule
compounds.
MACHINE LEARNING TO FIND A
TREATMENT
By gathering sufficient quality data and
implementing artificial intelligence concept, which
could be a powerful tool used for predicting the
disease’s future trend and even searching for
possible treatments. Different biotechnology
43
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companies are using machine learning concept
to develop treatments based on antibodies from
patients who have recovered from the disease
COVID-19. These companies have used Artificial
Intelligence (AI) concept to analyze more than
millions of immune cells as they desire to search
for those that are able to produce antibodies which
help patients recover.
FACIAL RECOGNITION AND BIG DATA
Different organizations have developed
dashboards for accessing the public information
to monitor the corona virus using Big Data. Most
of the developed cities across the globe have
installed infrared temperature detection and Face
recognition techniques.
Al Jazeera has reported that telecom
companies China are providing facility of Mobile
sent text messages to their state media agencies,
informing about the person who have been
infected. This message includes the details about
the person’s travel history. Some Companies like
Panasonic, Sense Time and FacePro have also
developed certain kind of software which can
easily identify the people without face masks.
SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY
Satellite technology provides better
service in social distancing. Advanced countries
are using both macro and micro level satellites
for providing information about the social
distancing and stay at home information. Satellite
imageries system are used for providing the
information about the different activities happening
or not-happening across the major cities, crowded
places, industrial sites, farming activity, tourist
places, and on different high ways during the
lockdowns or normal days.
ROBOTS
Robots are the game changers in
COVID-19 as they reduce the human-to-human
interaction and the potential danger expected for
the life of the medical staff members. Robots are
being used to disinfect, deliver medicine, measure
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Odisha Review
temperatures, food preparation and communicate
among the isolated members. Danish Company
in China providing UVD Robots which can
disinfect the patient cabins based on the statement.
UVD Robot moves around patient rooms
autonomously and emitting right amount of
ultraviolet light covering all surface area in order
to kill Corona viruses and other bacteria. Some
hospitals of US are also using Robots to
communicate among the doctors and patients
through a screen and it was equipped with a
stethoscope.
HEALTH SENSORS AND MOBILE APPS
Mobile applications are being used for
tracking and preventing the spread of corona virus
disease. Utilizing the proper surveillance network
for public goodness, the Government of India has
developed a mobile application Aarogya Setu
to connect essential health services among people
of India to fight against COVID-19.
Australia has developed a mobile
APP already used in Singapore for contact tracing
by detecting whether the people had spent more
than 15 minutes with other peoples who may have
been infected by COVID-19.
Chinese Government in association with
Alibaba and Tencent to develop a color-coded
health rating system which played a vital role in
China for tracking millions of people daily. The
mobile app was first deployed in Hangzhou in
collaboration with Alibaba. It consists of three
colors to people — yellow, green and red —
based on their travel and medical histories.
Dr. Manas Ranjan Senapati, Dean Science, BPUT and
Professor of Chemistry, Trident Academy of
Technology, Bhubaneswar-751024, Email:
dr_senapati@yahoo.com
Soubhagya Ranjan Mallick, Asst. Professor in
Computer Science & Engineering, Trident Academy of
Technology, Bhubaneswar-751024, Email:
soubhagya.mallick@gmail.com.
APRIL-MAY - 2020
Odisha Review
Reworking Sanitation Management in
Backdrop of Covid-19
I t took a virus to make 130 crore Indians
understand the necessity of sanitation. The
father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi once said,
“Cleanliness is next to Godliness” and it feels
strange that the country where majority of people
are religious, then how come people lacked behind
in maintaining sanitation and cleanliness. Six years
have passed since launch of Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan, still a question remains how much has
been achieved. The Government and
administration tried their best in incorporating
sanitation among the countrymen. Toilets are
constructed, however how many are using them ?
Similarly, in urban areas our Swachta remains
limited to social media posts and photos. Even
today one doesn’t fear from littering the roads,
spitting on walls or even urinating on them. I feel
ashamed on action of such people who are
citizens of a country that has one of the seven
wonders of world and receives millions of tourists
every year. What impression are we leaving about
ourselves in their minds ? Similarly, when it comes
to our eating habits, how many of us do really
wash their hands before having food ? Shockingly
there are also people who don’t wash hands after
eating, they just dust their hands in air and that’s
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Dr. Pramodini Jena
it. When people are behaving like this, then
expecting them to use hanky while coughing, using
sanitiser or washing hands after that is
meaningless. People would have continued their
lives like this only if there had not been this virus.
Now just think that this single minute sized
virus who suddenly appeared at our doorstep,
made people practising sanitisation like they are
mugging up notes before exam; imagine there are
multiple viruses like this which might be even
deadlier. We are lucky that the nCoV 2019 has
low mortality rate. Even though it has been
spreading fast, still the death rates are low.
Looking over the rates, the way it spread
worldwide, India is lucky in that matter that things
here not as worse as US or Italy. But in the end a
single life lost is also grave. And it would have
been better if we had been more alert and
prepared for tackling this in first place.
Now even question arises that sanitation
is a privilege. In a country like India, where in
some places people stand in long queue to collect
a bucket of water, handwash and sanitizers are
out of their reach. So, if you are thinking that
sanitation is a privilege and you are privileged then
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you need to be more responsible. Because in
majority cases just like this nCoV, the virus in the
country was initially reported among the people
who flew from outside and then it went for
community transition. Therefore, it becomes our
primary responsibility in ensuring that we remain
healthy and if infected we should not be mode for
transmission for others. Unless educated people
like us start contemplating and acting, things would
continue to be worse for everyone.
Combating a virus needs complete
sanitation in place. The disease outbreak
demonstrates why water and sanitation — being
an effective barrier against the virus — must be
available, accessible and affordable to all. A lack
of these can be a significant vector / pathway in
the transmission of the virus, if proper hygiene is
not followed. However, sanitation without clean
running water is next to impossible. Even though
currently nothing much can be done regarding this
with the whole country under lockdown but in
future once things are normal, it is necessary to
rework water and sanitation management systems
instead of focusing solely on infrastructure
solutions for water and sanitation challenges.
Similarly, considering last year’s Nipah
virus outbreak in Kerala, it should also be noted
that our country also can be an outbreak place.
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We can’t prevent completely something like this
big however we can restrict its spread and effect
given we act beforehand.
One more step in this direction can be
having some sort of permanent mechanism at
International airports that stores the basic health
data of incoming passengers at time of their arrival
in the country, to avoid having a panic situation in
such a scenario and reducing the difficulties in
tracking the person from the affected place.
Rest we come back to square one,
personal hygiene and sanitation. Keeping
ourselves clean and at the same time keeping our
surrounding clean. And most importantly, we
should utilise our time now by strategizing our
action and plans for future. Because nobody wants
to sit at home when the next pandemic arrives. It
thus, becomes imperative to become proactive
now to stop the next outbreak.
Dr. Pramodini Jena, Lecturer in Odia, KISS [Deemed to
be University], Bhubaneswar.
APRIL-MAY - 2020
Odisha Review
Rambha Palace : An Altar of Odia Movement
The Rambha Palace was a monument of great
importance not only for Ganjam but also for whole
Odisha. This beautiful palace is situated on the
bank of Chilika Lake. This palace was built by
Thomas Snodgrass, the Collector of Ganjam in
1791-92 on Government expenditure. European
engineers were engaged for its construction. Later,
on this ground, Snodgrass was dismissed from
his service. Subsequently, it was purchased by
king Rama Krushna Mardaraj of Khallikote to
be used for his residence. When he faced great
financial crisis, because of famine in Odisha, he
sold it to F.J.V. Minchin, the owner of the Aska
Sugar Factory. This palace attracted the attention
of King Harihar Mardaraj who purchased it and
made it his residence. Being attracted by its scenic
beauty, Lord Curzon, the Governor General of
India once stayed here. Harihar Mardaraj was
always in the forefront of the Odia movement till
his death in 1909. After the sad demise of the
King Harihar Mardaraj at an immature age of 39,
his queen Kanaka Manjari Devi rose up to the
occasion and finished many incomplete work of
her King. She was a very sociable queen of the
Khallikote ruling dynasty.
The foundation of the famous Utkal Union
Conference was laid here in the presence of
eminent personalities like Utkal Gourav
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Dr. Janmejay Choudhury
Madhusudan Das and Maharaja Sriram Chandra
Bhanja. It was the Rambha Palace which
provided the befitting platform for the
amalgamation movement of Odia Speaking Tracts
on the auspicious occasion of the 2nd birthday of
Yuvraj Rama Chandra Mardaraj on 13.01.1902,
the worthy son of King Harihar Mardaraj. King
Harihar Mardaraj sent royal invitation to many
kings and distinguished personalities like
Radhanath Ray, Sri Nilamani Vidyaratna, Sri Fakir
Mohan Senapati, Narasingh Das, Madhusudan
Das, Sriram Chandra Bhanja and Sri Gadadhara
Bidyabhusan. The 2nd conference of Utkal
Sammilani was hosted by king Harihar Mardaraj
from 29.04.1905 to 01.05.1905 to harness the
cause of the Odias as they were not getting their
legitimate justice. In the year 1909, Harihar
Mardaraj organized the 3rd Rambha Conference
which was reorganized as the Utkal Union
Conference. Thousands and thousands of
delegates from different parts of Odia Speaking
Tracts united at Rambha Palace with the invitation
of King. The important role played by King
Harihar Mardaraj at the early part of 20th century
was the amalgamation of Odisha. King Harihar
Mardaraj was the principal leader of the Odia
movement till his death in 1909. Then his son
Rama Chandra Mardaraj organized another Odia
conference in the precinct of Rambha Palace
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where Madhusudan Das vowed to realize the
most cherished dream of the Odias to get a
separate State of their own. King Ram Chandra
rose to the occasion to accomplish the incomplete
nation-building exercise of his father. The Phillip-
Duff Commission that visited Odisha to assess
the situation relating to merger of Odia Speaking
Tracts and formation of Odisha province stayed
at Rambha palace from 17.12.1924 to
21.12.1924 as distinguished guests of the King
Ramachandra Mardaraj who succeeded in
persuading the Commission to support the cause
of the Odias. Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das
and Gopal Chandra Praharaj were also among
the main guests of Khallikote to stay at Rambha
Palace.
In the year 1927, the Simon Commission
under the chairmanship of Sir John Simon was
guest in Rambha Palace where King Rama
Chandra Mardaraj boldly advocated for
amalgamation of the Odisha province. In 1931,
the Government constituted a Boundary
Committee under the chairmanship of Sir Samuel
Hoare and O’Donell. King Rama Chandra
Mardaraj hosted the Committee in his Rambha
Palace with the single motto of uniting the Odia
race.
In the process of the nation building exercise,
when King Rama Chandra Mardaraj was 22 he
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had hosted their Excellency Lord and Lady
Willingdon at Rambha Palace. King Rama
Chandra Mardaraj had left no stones unturned in
inviting high dignitaries like Gandhi and sister
Miraben to Rambha Palace when they were
moving through the various states for the cause
of Swaraj. In 1955, King Bahadur had assembled
Sri Balabant Ray Mehta, Pandit Nehru, Sri U.N.
Dhebar (Congress President), Lal Bahadur
Sahstri, Gobinda Ballava Panta, Nabakrushna
Choudhury at Rambha Palace to discuss on
various issues about the nation. From Lord Wavel
to O’Donnell, Mr. A.C. Duff, Mr. C.F. Phillip,
Sir John Austin Hubback and many national and
state leaders also stayed at the same palace for
few times. Many dignitaries who had been the
guests of Khallikote especially during the time of
King Harihar Mardaraj and King Rama Chandra
Mardaraj stayed at this historic Rambha Palace.
So Rambha Palace has earned the distinction of
an important monument in the annals of Odisha
history. Which was an altar of Odia Movement.
Dr. Janmejay Choudhury, Lecturer in History,
Sri Jagannath College, Kaipadar, Khordha.
APRIL-MAY - 2020